The MolinaCares Accord Donates $100,000 to Southeast Michigan Perinatal Quality Improvement Coalition to Improve Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes

This press release is from Molina Healthcare. Read more here. 

The MolinaCares Accord (“MolinaCares”), in collaboration with Molina Healthcare of Michigan (“Molina”), presented a $100,000 donation to the Southeast Michigan Perinatal Quality Improvement Coalition (“SEMPQIC”) to support expanded implicit bias training for providers. The comprehensive training initiative will equip health care providers and community-based organizations with resources to address racial inequities in care that are a barrier to positive infant and maternal health outcomes among historically marginalized populations.

In Michigan, Black and Brown communities are disproportionally impacted by infant and maternal deaths. In 2021, Black infants accounted for 44% of infant deaths despite only making up about 18% of total births. Black women in Michigan are twice as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as white women. According to SEMPQIC’s Detroit Health Equity Dashboard, Detroit, with a 77.1% Black population, saw infant mortality rates more than double that of Michigan’s overall mortality rate. Yet, data show 62% of those maternal deaths overall were preventable.

“We believe one of the best investments we can make in our communities is to ensure infants have a healthy start and to protect the health of their mothers” said Terrisca Des Jardins, plan president for Molina Healthcare of Michigan. “We’re proud to support SEMPQIC to expand implicit bias training, as part of a larger, multi-pronged approach to better support providers, hospitals, and community organizations to more equitably serve Black and Brown women and families in Detroit and Southeast Michigan.”

The program will encompass in-person training, videos, webinars, and an online resource library. The implementation of cultural competency training for primary care providers will help improve patient communication, patient trust, and patient satisfaction, and will ultimately help address implicit bias and racial discrimination in care, directly leading to healthier outcomes for women and families.

The funding will also enable SEMPQIC to train providers, community organizations, and hospital associations on how to support patients through the Medicaid redetermination process to ensure all patients have continuous health care coverage.

“By training providers and community leaders, we can reach thousands of new mothers and their infant children, saving precious lives right here in Southeast Michigan,” said Vernice Anthony, lead consultant for SEMPQIC. “By ensuring that newborns and their mothers have continuous health care coverage, we can make sure every child has access to the care they need to get the healthy start they deserve. We’re very grateful for the support from MolinaCares to continue our work on behalf of infants and moms in Metro Detroit toward more equitable health and health care outcomes.”

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