Beatrice hospital program aims to curb maternal mortality, reduce disparities

BEATRICE, Neb. (KLKN) — The Beatrice Community Hospital is launching a program to decrease deaths among pregnant women.

“It’s really focused on bringing in birth equity and treating everybody with respect,” said Dr. Deann Paulson, an OBGYN. “Some of that is addressing some of the disparities in the different ethnic groups.”

The U.S. maternal mortality rate increased in 2024, ending a two-year decline.

Six hundred and eighty-eight women died during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the rate is higher among women of color.

“We know that Black women have a three times higher mortality rate than their white counterparts,” Paulson said.

She said bias, sometimes unknown, is a leading cause of that.

“How we do address that, even in a small community?” she asked.

Four volunteers got together to create a plan, and the hospital staff is on board.

“We’re trying to give everybody respectful care,” obstetrician supervisor Jill Allen said

She said nurses are asking, “What are those biases that we come in with every delivery?”

The team started with data research, then moved toward more practical steps to improve care.

The hospital is now giving out surveys to each mother they admit.

And it’s also replacing video interpreters used for Hispanic patients with an in-house in-person interpreter to speed up care.

The goal is to save lives.

“Combat it at the beginning, rather than after the bad outcome happens,” Paulson said.

Registered nurse Melissa McKernan said the team has taken a special pledge “so that we can recognize bias and stop it in our track.”

Angela Ahlman, another registered nurse, said the program has helped her spot microaggressions, “small comments that people don’t even know could be offensive.”

“I think the training has helped us become number one, aware of all these things, and number two, what’s hard is to speak up and say something about it.”