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For Immediate Release
August 2, 2019

Statement from United University Professions President Frederick E. Kowal on the creation of a Maternal Mortality Review Board

“UUP applauds Gov. Cuomo for signing legislation to create a Maternal Mortality Review Board to study the deaths of women who die in childbirth and provide necessary recommendations to improve maternal health care for expectant mothers.

“SUNY’s three public hospitals in Brooklyn, Stony Brook and Syracuse are safety-net hospitals that provide vital health care services to the state’s sickest and most vulnerable patients, many of whom are underinsured or simply don’t have the money to pay for care. Because our teaching hospitals turn no one away, they provide services to a diverse population of people from many different cultures, backgrounds and beliefs.

“More resources are required to better serve expectant mothers, especially those with high-risk pregnancies who require highly specialized care. We are confident that data gathered by the new review board will expose this need.

“We look forward to working with the governor, the New York State Taskforce on Maternal Mortality and Disparate Racial Outcomes and the new review board to take on this challenge and find answers that will save lives. UUP members—our doctors, midwives, nurses and other health care professionals—will be a great asset to the crucial work of the review board.”

UUP is the nation's largest higher education union, with more than 42,000 academic and professional faculty and retirees. UUP members work at 29 New York state-operated campuses, including SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and health science centers in Brooklyn, Long Island and Syracuse. It is an affiliate of NYSUT, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the AFL-CIO.

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