Health department to host meetings on Black Maternal Health Strategic Plan

Nov. 7—The Frederick County Health Department will host two community meetings this month on how to improve the Black birthing experience in the county and gather input for its Black Maternal Health Strategic Plan.

One session will be in person on Nov. 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the C. Burr Artz Public Library Programming Room at 110 E. Patrick St. in Frederick. The second session will be virtual on Nov. 18 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Individuals can register for the Nov. 13 session at bit.ly/467zrxQ and the Nov. 18 session at bit.ly/47iMe1y. The in-person session has a capacity limit of 35 people.

Anyone who can't attend either session and wants to learn about the process or provide feedback can email Allie Macdonald at amacdonald@healthmanagement.com.

The meetings will help inform the Black Maternal Health Strategic Plan, which is a collaboration between the county health department, the Black Maternal Health Community Advisory Board and the Community Heath Improvement Plan.

The strategic plan is estimated to be finalized by the end of the month and will be available on the county's webpage for the Black Maternal Health Project.

The first part of the project was a Black maternal health disparity study, which was released in April. The second phase focuses on developing solutions based on the health disparity study's findings and community input.

The health disparity study defined several driving factors that contribute to disparities in Black maternal health incomes in Frederick County, including low socioeconomic positions, adverse sociocultural factors, minority status, differential access to health care, and culturally incompetent care.