Members Sought for Texas Maternal Mortality
and Morbidity Review Committee- Application Extended
If you’re interested
in the statewide efforts to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in Texas,
you may consider joining the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review
Committee (MMMRC). The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is
currently accepting applications for membership on the committee for the
following positions:
- Community Advocate
- Certified Nurse-Midwife
- Medical Examiner
- Physician specializing
in Obstetrics, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist
- Registered Nurse
The DSHS Commissioner
will appoint members to the committee to serve a six-year term or to complete
the term of a current vacancy. The
application deadline has been extended. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m., March 5, 2021.
DSHS will consider the
applicants' qualifications, background and interest in serving on the committee.
DSHS also aims to choose committee members who overall represent the diversity
of all Texans. For that reason, DSHS considers applicants' ethnicity, gender
and geographic location.
You may submit the
application, resumé or curriculum vitae, and two letters of recommendation by
email.
Email: MaternalHealth@dshs.texas.gov
Attn: Sarah Beard
DSHS will notify
applicants if they have been selected.
About the Texas Maternal Mortality and
Morbidity Review Committee
The MMMRC is a 17-member
multidisciplinary committee. Chapter 34, Texas Health and Safety Code, directs
the MMMRC to study and review:
- cases of
pregnancy-related deaths;
- trends, rates, or
disparities in pregnancy-related deaths and severe maternal morbidity;
- health conditions and
factors that disproportionately affect the most at-risk populations; and
- best practices and
programs operating in other states that have reduced rates of pregnancy-related
deaths.
Through this process,
the MMMRC develops recommendations to help reduce the incidence of preventable
pregnancy-related deaths and severe maternal morbidity in the state.
The Review Committee
must include representatives of each of the following:
- Four physicians specializing
in obstetrics, at least one of whom is a maternal fetal medicine specialist
- One certified
nurse-midwife
- One registered nurse
- One nurse specializing
in labor and delivery
- One physician
specializing in family practice
- One physician
specializing in psychiatry
- One physician
specializing in pathology
- One epidemiologist,
biostatistician, or researcher of pregnancy-related deaths
- One social worker or
social service provider
- One community advocate
in a relevant field
- One medical examiner
or coroner responsible for recording death
- One physician
specializing in critical care
- A representative of
the department's family and community health programs.
- The state’s
epidemiologist for the department or the epidemiologist's designee.
A committee member
must regularly participate in committee meetings and may also have to
participate in subcommittee meetings, projects and presentations. Committee
meetings will be held at least quarterly in Austin or at the decision of the
presiding officer. Teleconference case review meetings will be held at least
twice monthly. Committee members do not receive reimbursement for time or
travel expenses to participate on the committee.
To Learn More
For more information
about the committee or about applying to be on the committee, contact Sarah
Beard at MaternalHealth@dshs.texas.gov.
Background and Purpose
The Maternal Mortality
and Morbidity Task Force was created by Senate Bill 495, 83rd Legislature,
Regular Session, 2013, which added Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 34. Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force.
The name of the Task Force was changed to the Texas Maternal Mortality and
Morbidity Review Committee
by Senate Bill 750, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019 in
alignment with the federal Preventing Maternal Deaths Act of 2018. Later in 2019, the review committee was
awarded Center for Disease Control and Prevention funding for the for the Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to
Eliminate Maternal Mortality (ERASE MM) Program.
The multidisciplinary
review committee within the DSHS will study maternal mortality and morbidity.
The review committee:
- studies and reviews
cases of pregnancy-related deaths and trends in severe maternal morbidity,
- determines the
feasibility of the review committee studying cases of severe maternal
morbidity, and
- makes recommendations
to help reduce the incidence of pregnancy-related deaths and severe maternal
morbidity in Texas.
The review committee
and DSHS must submit a joint report on the findings of the review committee and
recommendations to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the House of
Representatives, and appropriate committees of the Texas Legislature by
September 1 of each even-numbered year, beginning Sept. 1, 2016.
Members of
the review committee are appointed by the DSHS commissioner and serve
six-year staggered terms.
Current
Members
Dr. Lisa Hollier,
Chair, Physician specializing in Obstetrics, maternal fetal medicine
specialist, Houston
Dr. Carla Ortique, Vice Chair, Physician specializing in Obstetrics, Houston
Dr. Manda Hall, DSHS representative - Associate Commissioner Community Health
Improvement Division, Austin
Dr. Meitra Doty, Physician specializing in Psychiatry, Dallas
Dr. Kelly Fegan-Bohm, DSHS representative - State Epidemiologist Interim
Designee, Austin
Vacant, Community Advocate
Dr. Pamala Gessling, Registered Nurse, Dallas
Dr. James Maher, Physician specializing in Obstetrics, Maternal-Fetal Medicine
specialist, Odessa
Dr. D. Kimberley Molina, Medical Examiner, San Antonio
Dr. Sherri Onyiego, Physician specializing in Family Practice, Houston
Dr. Amy Raines-Milenkov, Researcher of pregnancy-related deaths, Fort Worth
Dr. Patrick Ramsey, Physician specializing in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, San
Antonio
Ms. Nancy Jo Reedy, Certified Nurse-Midwife, Arlington
Ms. Nancy Alderman, Social Worker, Austin
Dr. Eumenia Castro, Pathologist, Houston
Dr. Lavannya Pandit, Physician specializing in Critical Care, Houston
Dr. Christina Murphey, Nurse specializing in Labor and Delivery, Corpus Christi
Maternal
Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee Legislative Reports
Texas Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee
and Department of State Health Services Joint Biennial Report, December 2020
Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force and Department of State Health
Services Joint Biennial Report, September 2018
Maternal Mortality and
Morbidity Task Force and Department of State Health Services Joint Biennial
Report, July 2016
Maternal Mortality and
Morbidity Task Force Report, September 2014
Maternal
Mortality in Texas: Using Precision Public Health to Improve Maternal Outcomes
(with Appendix)
Explanation of
methodologies and sources used in various interpretations of the rates of
maternal mortality and related causes and risk factors in Texas, as well as
examples of activities and collaborations (planned or already in place)
directly related to the recommendations made by the Maternal Mortality and
Morbidity Review Committee.
Maternal Mortality in Texas: Using Precision
Public Health to Improve Maternal Outcomes
Appendix – Maternal Mortality in Texas:
A Comparison of Maternal Mortality Rate Change Using Different Methods
Upcoming Meeting Dates
Date
|
Time
|
Location
|
March 5, 2021
|
9 a.m.
|
Virtual |
June 4, 2021
|
|
TBD
|
Sept. 10, 2021
|
|
TBD
|
Dec. 3, 2021
|
|
TBD
|
For More Information on Maternal and Mortality and Morbidity, please contact MaternalHealth@DSHS.texas.gov or:
Texas Department of State Health Services
Maternal & Child Health
PO Box 149347, Mail Code 1922
Austin, TX 78714-9347
(512) 776-7373: Phone
(512) 458-7658: Fax
External links to
other sites are intended to be informational and do not have the endorsement of
the Texas Department of State Health Services. These external links may not be
accessible to persons with disabilities.