2018 has been an incredible year for the Women's Health Activist Movement (WHAMglobal). Thank you for being a part of the movement! In 2018, there has been an incredible amount of momentum around reducing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. This year, WHAMglobal was busy advocating for changes to improve maternal health. Below is a list of...
Throughout 2018, a number of strides were made to improve maternal health in the United States and Pennsylvania. This blog outlines some of the key legislative victories of the year. Pennsylvania Establishes a Maternal Moratality Review Committee (MMRC) - Earlier this year, Governor Tom Wolf signed Act 24 of 2018, which established a Maternal Morta...
1. "Why America's Black Mothers and Babies are in a Life-or-Death Crisis" - New York Times Magazine 2. "Lost Mothers" - ProPublica 3. "Why giving birth in the U.S. is surprisingly deadly" - National Geographic 4. "Deadly Deliveries: How hospitals are failing new moms" - USA Today 5. "The battle against infant mortality in Alleghen...
In response to our nation's troubling maternal and child health outcomes, JHF and its supporting organizations are working to re-imagine and redesign the birth experience—from care delivery improvements to payment reform, and from consumer advocacy to policy change. In December, JHF participated in two important conferences at the Kaiser Center for...
On November 16, maternal and perinatal health leaders and experts from across the state gathered in Harrisburg for the first advisory meeting for Pennsylvania's newly formed Perinatal Quality Collaborative (PQC). Over 60 stakeholders joined the meeting both in-person and virtually. The Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI) is establishing th...
The WHAMglobal team is excited to share the highlights and lessons learned from the Maternal Leaders Symposium on October 8. For an overview of the speakers and sessions from the Symposium, please watch the below video: If you would like a deeper dive into the themes from the day, as well as some key takeaways from the event, please download the at...
On October 8, the Women's Health Activist Movement Global (WHAMglobal), a supporting organization of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF), hosted a Maternal Health Leaders Symposium at the Westin Convention Center in Downtown Pittsburgh. Nearly 130 local, national, and international leaders gathered to identify cutting-edge research and evidence-...
For more than 40 years, the International Women's Forum (IWF) has cultivated strong leadership around the globe. The invite-only organization has nearly 7,000 members spread across 33 countries and six continents, with decision-makers from Fortune 500 companies, government, the non-profit sector, the arts, and science among the network. That includ...
On October 24, WHAMglobal Founder Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD, was featured in a Q&A with Kidsburgh. Kidsburgh is described as the "go-to online resource focusing on the people and ideas making Pittsburgh a better place to raise kids." In the Q&A, Dr. Feinstein discussed her reasons for founding the Women's Health Activsit Movement (WHAM...
The Henry L. Hillman Foundation approved a $120,000 grant to the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI) to help establish the Maternal Coalition and Action Network (MOMsCAN). MOMsCAN is a perinatal quality collaborative (PQC) that will build a statewide, multi-stakeholder coalition and use research, training, quality improvement, technical as...
On July 19-20, the Women of Impact gathered for an annual meeting that was held at the headquarters of AcademyHealth in Washington, D.C. During the meeting, the Women of Impact welcomed new members, explored their personal and professional legacies, and devised strategies to advance gender equity, diversity, and inclusion in health care. Five years...
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) today awarded $2 million to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality through the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM). This blog originally appeared as an HRSA Press Release at the following link: https://www.hrsa.gov/about/...
WHAMglobal team member Hanifa Nakiryowa was recently featured in a Pittwire article, highlighting her work as an activist for human rights and acid attack survivors. Hanifa is the founder of the Kampala-based Center for Rehabilitation of Survivors of Acid and Burns Violence (CERESAV). Hanifa is an acid attack survivor who has used her voice to adva...
The Jewish Healthcare Foundation announced today that it will provide a $600,000 grant to develop a Women's Health Research & Policy Center at RAND, in partnership with the Magee-Womens Research Institute. This grant is a part of the WHAMglobal initiative at JHF. WHAMglobal's current policy priorities focus on reducing the rate of maternal mort...
Hanifa Nakiryowa, MID, has inspired and activated health advocates around the world. The JHF Global Health Associate has strengthened services and supports for acid attack survivors, strived to prevent such violence in the first place, and now advances WHAMglobal's mission of reducing maternal mortality and supporting mothers through the entirety o...
Modern Healthcare recently released its annual list of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders in the U.S. The exclusive list, compiled through a rigorous selection process, recognizes physicians in all healthcare sectors who are guiding their organizations through rapidly changing conditions while demonstrating leadership, innova...
On June 26, the WHAMglobal team - and several of the national leaders in women's health, healthcare delivery, finance, and policy who also participated in the trip - shared their insights on the Australia excursion during a Health Careers Futures Board meeting. WHAMglobal also previewed how it plans to advance research, policy, and advocacy around ...
Women's Health Activist Movement Global (WHAMglobal) is committed to identifying the root causes of maternal mortality and supporting mothers and families through the entirety of their care. When it comes to improving maternal health outcomes, Australia provides ample inspiration. Women's Health Activist Movement Global (WHAMglobal) is commit...
Mothers are dying at higher rates in the United States than any other developed nation. As healthcare systems scramble to address the growing spotlight on maternal mortality and morbidity, accurate data is a critical first step. Last month, Pennsylvania took this significant first step forward in fighting the unsettling growing maternal mortality r...
On May 17, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation sponsored a Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures event at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall that featured novelist, poet, essayist, and author Elizabeth Rosner. JHF sponsored the event in partnership with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Novelist, poet, essayist, and au...
On May 6, thousands of people packed neighborhoods for the 2018 Pittsburgh Marathon. May 6 also happened to be the date of March for Moms, a national campaign that rallied people from across the U.S. to demand higher-quality maternity care. To capitalize on the already-packed streets, the Women's Health Activist Movement Global (WHAMglobal), JHF's ...
On April 5, the Women's Health Activist Movement Global (WHAMglobal) hosted the first-ever meeting of its Regional Advisory Committee—a collection of leading experts and advocates in women's health who will help shape strategies and focus policy initiatives for JHF's newest supporting organization. The WHAMglobal Regional Advisory Committee f...
The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. is nearly three times higher than in any other peer nation. And, while other countries around the world are reducing maternal mortality, more mothers in the U.S. are dying during pregnancy or shortly thereafter. What's going on, and what can we do collectively to address this public health crisis? On December...
The August Wilson Center in downtown Pittsburgh came alive Monday night as 8 women activists offered their "Big Idea" to fix healthcare. The event kicked off with a film retrospective of women whose activism gave us everything from equal rights, to safer health care, to control over our reproductive freedom, to less drunk driving on our roads. Then...