Dr. Debra Bogan, state health secretary, speaks during a news conference Monday to discuss the state’s Maternal Health Strategic Action Plan.

After a wave of hospital maternity department closures and higher than average maternal mortality among some populations, the Shapiro Administration is releasing a plan to help the situation.

The ‘Healthy Moms, Vibrant Futures’ Maternal Health Strategic Action Plan is the first in Pennsylvania and contains strategic goals, data and research, ongoing work, and recommendations to combat maternal health disparities that can shape quality of life for both mothers and their children

The plan includes improved detection and treatment of behavioral health conditions, including both mental health and substance use disorders; improving coordination and access to care in rural areas and maternity care deserts; increasing access to high-quality care; integrating initiatives to address health-related social needs into health care and expanding the maternal health workforce.

“Improving maternal and infant health requires a statewide response implemented at the local level where care and support are provided,” said Dr. Debra Bogen, state health secretary.

“The Healthy Moms, Vibrant Futures Action Plan was informed in part by the work of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee as well as diverse voices.

The Action Plan is a blueprint to help ensure that pregnant women — especially disproportionately affected Black and rural women — their babies, and their families receive the care and support they need to thrive.”

First-year actions Shapiro is proposing include collaborating with state agencies and other partners supporting rural health care development to leverage existing resources, determine needs, and create collaborative efforts to address

lack of maternal care; work with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to establish current availability of maternity care and related supports and to identify what supports are lacking and how they may be expanded or

procured; develop training for emergency medical service, first responders, and emergency department personnel working in areas with limited or no labor and delivery hospitals on how to recognize obstetric emergencies, perinatal behavioral health crises, and other perinatal emergencies.

Implementation is a primary focus of the Perinatal Action Collaborative. Its members include leadership from the Shapiro Administration, stakeholders, maternal health care providers, community-based organizations focused on maternal and family support, and people with lived experience.

Lack of providers in rural communities was described as a significant barrier to accessing care. Lack of coordination can hinder care for mothers living in rural communities and maternity care deserts, the plan states. In January Warren General Hospital closed its labor and delivery unit because it couldn’t find a doctor to continue the practice. For several years, Warren General Hospital’s OBGYN program has been maintained by two physicians. On Dec. 29, the hospital was notified that one of those physicians would not be participating in the delivery of babies for the foreseeable future. Over the past year, Warren General Hospital has tried to expand its OBGYN program, including contacting 28 OBGYN residency programs nationwide, including all 16 OBGYN residency programs in Pennsylvania, six in Western New York and six in Eastern Ohio – in attempts to connect with potential OBGYN physician candidates.

Warren General Hospital will continue to provide gynecologic, prenatal and postpartum care as well as wellness exams and routine screenings while its remaining physician will continue to see patients and oversee the hospital’s Advanced Practice Providers, either onsite or remotely. If the hospital’s other physician returns, that doctor will also provide outpatient women’s health services to Warren General Hospital patients.

Approximately 175 babies have been delivered each year at WGH. Over the last 20 years, deliveries have declined from 400 deliveries each year to 175 a year. Warren General Hospital officials said they will work collaboratively with expecting mothers regarding the following three labor and delivery options for births: UPMC Chautauqua (20 miles from WGH), AHN St. Vincent Hospital (62 miles from WGH), and UPMC Hamot Magee-Women’s Hospital (67 miles from WGH).

Warren General Hospital has also established a relationship with Dr. Michael Scutella from OBGYN Associates of Erie. Scutella’s group consists of 18 OBGYN physicians. Scutella provides outpatient care to the numerous communities in the region, with labor and delivery services provided in Erie. OBGYN Associates of Erie is willing to come to Warren in the future to provide outpatient women’s health services and same-day surgeries, beginning as early as summer/fall of 2026. Dr. Hannah Zank, who is currently in her OBGYN residency, is scheduled to join WGH’s OBGYN team in July 2027. Beginning at that time, hospital officials said they hope Zank will lead Warren General Hospital’s outpatient women’s health care services and assist OBGYN Associates of Erie with call coverage. Other practitioners in the greater New York-Pennsylvania region are also working to help in Warren.

There are 14 RNs in the Warren General Hospital Maternity Department, all of whom have the opportunity to staff positions in other hospital departments after appropriate training.

According to a 2023 March of Dimes report, Pennsylvania had, at the time of publication of this plan, seven counties classified as maternity care deserts. Maternity care deserts are defined as a county without access

to obstetric care facilities and providers and includes counties without hospitals or birth centers that offer

obstetric care. From 2019 to 2020, there was a 14% decrease in hospitals that offer labor and delivery care in

Pennsylvania.

“Even in cases where a county is not a maternity care desert, mothers may still feel their pregnancy and parenting supports are limited or isolated,” the plan states. “In rural communities in Pennsylvania, 47.6% of women live

more than 30 minutes from a birthing hospital. And just 0.3 percent of maternity care providers licensed in

Pennsylvania practice in rural counties.”