Murphy signs bill establishing Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center
During a ceremony July 17, Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation into law that marks the next step in establishing the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center in Trenton.
Senate Bill 3864/Assembly Bill 5472 creates the New Jersey Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority, which will oversee the new facility. The group will be governed by a 15-member board that will appoint a president and CEO who will hire accompanying staff.
The center will focus on innovation and research in maternal and infant health through partnerships with the state’s academic, funder, business and faith communities. The board will adopt recommendations from the New Jersey Maternal Care Quality Collaborative (NJMCQC) and will be required to coordinate with a Community Advisory Committee to support and inform the work of the authority.
It marks a pivotal next step in First Lady Tammy Murphy’s Nurture NJ initiative, which launched in 2019 with a commitment to reduce the maternal and infant mortality epidemic in New Jersey and ensure equitable care among women and children of all races in ethnicities.
The governor’s office says that since the inception of the initiative, Nurture NJ has seen 43 pieces of maternal infant health legislation signed by the governor, developed and implemented a number of programs and policies, and hosted 17 Family Festivals bringing resources to more than 6,800 families statewide. When Murphy took office in 2018, New Jersey ranked 47th in the nation for maternal and infant mortality. Last month, the state moved up to 29th in America’s Health Ranking.
Sound starts
First Lady Tammy Murphy recently spent time at AtlantiCare for a discussion about how the health care provider is delivering Safe Beginnings in Atlantic City for expectant and new mothers as well as their families. Click here to read more.
Nurture NJ was allocated nearly $60 million in the recently signed Fiscal Year 2024 state budget, with $32 million of that slated to go toward the center, including $2.2 million allocated in the bill signed Monday.
The measure was inspired by the Maternal and Infant Health Strategic Plan, which Nurture NJ unveiled in January 2021.
“This center will be an incubator for research and development, an academic and perinatal workforce training center, a data collaborative, and so much more,” said First Lady Murphy. “It will offer comprehensive clinical services to serve moms, before, during and after pregnancy and will not only help us transform the maternal and infant health landscape in New Jersey but will make our state the national model and gold standard for maternal care.”
The governor said he was tremendously grateful to his wife for her dedication and work trying to find solutions to this maternal health crisis.
“She has been shining a light on this issue and bringing attention to the hard truths. Today marks another important step in our ongoing efforts to protect the health of mothers and newborns,” said Gov. Murphy. “This center will both drive policy and provide badly needed maternal health care services in Trenton, which currently does not have a birthing center and suffers from some of the widest racial disparities in maternal and infant deaths.”
“Trenton mothers and newborns will receive outstanding care as a result of the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center,” said Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora. “The Murphy Administration is rightly addressing system disparities in prenatal and postpartum care that Black and Brown mothers receive; with a shared vision for a brighter and healthier future, there is so much that we can accomplish together. After the closure of St. Francis Hospital, this new center marks the start of a new chapter in the health ecosystem of our Capital City, which will create jobs and improve health outcomes for Trentonians.”
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