Georgia has one of the country’s highest maternal mortality rates. On August 8, Sen. Raphael Warnock traveled to Gainesville to raise awareness and learn more about the issue.
Warnock visited the Gainesville campus of Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC). During his visit, toured the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and took part in a roundtable discussion with Northeast Georgia Health System leaders.
“I was honored to sit by Senator Warnock and share about all the great work NGHS is doing and what we hope to see for mothers here locally and across Georgia,” said NGHS President and CEO Carol Burrell.
NGHS is one of only nine recipients of a $1 million grant awarded to support state-led maternal health innovation. The local health system says it will use the funding for Women and Children’s Services, as well as the Georgia Heart Institute, to study and prevent cardiac disease among pregnant and postpartum women.
While visiting NGMC, Warnock also discussed the importance of the Georgia Council for Recovery’s maternal peer support program. The program provides certified addiction recovery empowerment specialists – CARES – for hospital NICUs.
