Secretaries point to maternal‑health coalitions, pilots and RFPs as tools to address maternity‑care deserts

Department of Health and Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs leaders described several state efforts aimed at improving maternal outcomes and addressing so-called maternity‑care deserts during a House Appropriations Committee hearing.

Secretary Deborah Bogan said the department used recent appropriations to create a Division of Maternal Health Services, hire staff and fund four regional maternal health coalitions. She said the General Assembly provided about $5 million in prior funding to get the work started and that additional RFPs will be released to distribute remaining maternal-health dollars. Bogan also described pilot work in Clinton County that uses a state health center to reduce patient travel for prenatal visits.

Why it matters: Committee members repeatedly described maternity‑care deserts as an urgent public-health problem for pregnant people in rural and underserved counties, where travel distances for delivery and prenatal care have increased as hospital services consolidate and some obstetric floors have closed.

Programs and pilot outcomes: Secretary Letika Davis Jones described treatment and recovery programs for pregnant and parenting people, calling attention to a local program, Baby Love at Hamilton Health Center in Dauphin County. Davis Jones said Baby Love data for 2023–24 showed 84% of mothers remained engaged in treatment, 96% did not require a higher level of care at 90 days post‑discharge, 98% of babies did not require extended stays for neonatal abstinence syndrome, and about 89% of mothers in the program received prenatal care in the first trimester.

Planned spending and next steps: Bogan said a new maternal‑health RFP will be posted soon to allocate remaining maternal appropriations; she told legislators much of the work is intended to be locally directed because local solutions vary. Committee members asked for a breakdown of how much of prior funding went to counties described as maternity‑care deserts; Bogan said she would provide those details to the committee and noted a $2.3 million RFP under development specifically lists maternity‑desert criteria among its priorities.

Follow-up requested: Members asked for details on staffing, RFP timetables and metrics to measure whether funds are improving access to prenatal care and delivery services. The secretaries agreed to provide the requested funding and program data.