Uplifting Birth Equity Maternal Health Hub debuts at Niagara Falls Memorial

By Benjamin Joe

At the Women’s Wellness Day event on Monday, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center announced the launch of its new Uplifting Birth Equity Maternal Health Hub.

Eileen Kineke, director of the P3 Center, talked about the national problem and the regional solution being undertaken in Niagara County.

“This is a racial inequity issue,” she said. “Black women are dying at almost five times the rate of white women from pregnancy-related issues. It’s bad and it’s in New York state.

“The primary goal is to reduce, locally, these issues. That’s not just mortality, it’s morbidity, too. Making sure they’re connected with health resources. That they’re going through their pre- and postpartum care. That they’re checking their blood pressure. That they’re reaching out to behavioral therapists if they’re having any mental health conditions. That they’re connected. That they’re supported.”

Kineke said that, while a home visiting program existed at Memorial for several years, many women did not have the time or desire for someone to come to their homes. The new hub will include phone calls and connecting expecting mothers “however they need to be connected.”

“We want to make sure they’re getting the best services and also they’re getting it right away,” Kineke said, noting the hub would meet regularly with three services that already exist in Niagara County – P3, Nurse-Family Partnership with Catholic Health and Healthy Family America – to administer care where and when needed, as well as hold educational meetings with the community.

“A lot of the programming that we have came out of conversations (with the community). We keep building,” Kineke said.

The new program is funded by New York Health Foundation, and existing programs are already funded by New York State Department of Health.

Rosanne Serra and Zinab Attia, two providers, were handing out literature to women at the Women’s Wellness Day on the OB/GYN floor of Memorial.

“As providers, we help the patients with whatever they need throughout the pregnancy,” Attia said.

“They make the appointment, they come in, they see us. We follow them throughout their pregnancy,” Serra said.

The wellness day included yoga and back massages.

One mother attending, Karissa Hamilton, in her second pregnancy and due in two days, said she heard about the wellness event online and was intrigued by the holistic approach advertised. She decided to come down and see what was offered.

“I was born here, but I never gave birth here,” she said of Memorial. “So, I just came in to see what they had to offer. I found quite a bit information, including what they have now, what’s new, and what they’ve developed.”