Volunteers team up to investigate deaths of moms in Alabama

One of Boston's major teaching hospitals is examining how it handles patients’ bodies and supports family members after a death.

The United States has the highest mother mortality rates of any developed country. Through a clinic on wheels, Merck for Mothers is giving prenatal check-ups to low-income pregnant women in Philadelphia and curbing deaths related to childbirth.

In South Carolina, a Medicaid program is offering long-acting contraceptives during a new mother’s hospital stay, while she is still eligible for the benefit. Other states are following suit.

Project Baby Bear is a grant-funded pilot program that uses genome sequencing to to diagnose sick infants. The doctors hope to save lives and save the system money on unnecessary treatments. Since very few sick infants show symptoms that correlate to their genetic diagnosis, these tests are instrumental in positive health outcomes.

The simple addition of adding handles to bathroom stalls in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh has helped the camps' pregnant women regain a sense of empowerment and dignity. Providing support and balance, the design of these latrines have benefited the elderly in the camps as well.

Covid-19 has accelerated technological innovations and robots are being used to minimize the virus’ transmission. Mobile disinfectant units using UV light to break apart the virus’ genetic material are in use at some hospitals, airports, hotels, and food banks. They clean surfaces faster and with less risk than humans. Robots are also doing initial patient in-takes at hospitals to minimize transmission and identify critical cases, and telepresence bots, essentially i-pads on wheels, allow patients to explore outside their quarantined spaces. Users do have to contend with occasional technological glitches.

Mozambique has a shortage of practicing surgeons, so medical technicians are being trained to fill their roles in various situations, especially in rural locations. Although there are challenges to using this tactic, the technicians-turned-surgeons have similar complication rates as those who are practicing surgeons.

The Maternal and Neonatal Emergency Transport Scheme helps to increase access to healthcare services for women and newborns in rural areas through its informal transport/ambulance service. There are currently 2,500 registered drivers with the program willing to transport those in need of care and they serve about 70-90 women in labor each month.

To address gaps in healthcare access, the local government partnered with organizations like Plan International, German Cooperation and the World Bank’s Saving One Million Lives Project to build, refurbish and equip primary healthcare centers across the state to provide better care. As of May 2023, 138 centers have been built or upgraded, offering maternity care services, child healthcare, vaccinations and family planning among other services.

Mexico's Pilot Program for Licensed Physicians brings Mexican doctors to the states to address the lack of culturally relevant healthcare and Spanish-speaking healthcare providers, particularly in rural areas with large immigrant populations. Currently, the program has 30 Mexican doctors working in various counties throughout the state.