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Maternal Health Access and Birthing Patient Safety Task Force

Overview

In August 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed Chapter 186 of the Acts of 2024, An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options. Section 48 establishes a new nine-member task force on maternal health access and birthing patient safety in the Commonwealth which is co-chaired by the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. 

The task force is charged with studying and reporting on maternal health access and birthing patient safety across Massachusetts, including the current availability of maternal health services, financial investment in maternal health care, and the impact of past essential services closures.

Membership

  • Task Force Co-Chair Cristina Alonso, DrPH, Director of Pregnancy, Infancy and Early Childhood, Bureau of Family Health and Nutrition, Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH)
  • Task Force Co-Chair Alecia McGregor, PhD, Faculty, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Commissioner, Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC)
  • Nashira Baril, MPH, Executive Director and Founder, Neighborhood Birth Center
  • Amy Gagnon, RN, Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA)
  • Godwin Osei-Poku, MD, DrPH, Associate Research Director, Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety
  • Christin Price, MD, Administrative Director, Perinatal Neonatal Quality Improvement Network of Massachusetts (PNQIN)
  • Sara Shields, MD, Chair, Worcester Committee on Maternal and Perinatal Welfare, Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS)
  • Leigh Simons, MPH, Senior Director, Healthcare Policy, Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association (MHA)
  • Huong Trieu, PhD, Senior Director of Research, Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA)

Meetings

The first meeting of the Task Force will be on April 2, 2025, from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. The agenda and live stream are posted on the meeting page. 

Stay Connected

Questions about the work of the Task Force can be directed to [email protected]

Resources and Related Work