Trenton maternal health center construction to begin this summer

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New Jersey officials expect to begin construction this summer on the maternal and infant health center at the heart of a growing portfolio of programs to make childbirth safer, especially for women of color.

The state Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority announced the facility’s groundbreaking in its first annual report, released with little fanfare in late March. The report also said the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a global health philanthropy, had agreed to contribute private funding for the authority’s ongoing work.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — which also supports NJ Spotlight News — has agreed to provide $450,000 over the coming year to support the work of the authority, according to officials. The Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority, a quasi-independent government agency established in 2023 to oversee the state’s maternal and infant health initiatives, can accept revenue from government and private sources and has so far been funded by state and federal tax dollars.

“At the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we strongly believe that everyone should have the safe, respectful, and dignified care and treatment they need to have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies,” Sheila Reynertson, senior program officer at the foundation, said in an email. “We are proud to support the work of NJMIHIA in addressing the stark racial disparities in maternal and infant health care, removing barriers to health, and empowering communities most affected by inequity to advocate for best practices and solutions that improve current systems.”

The authority’s annual report said the funding will support the development of a “blueprint” for maternal and infant health “innovation and action” focused on improving outcomes and equity. The report is posted on the website of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which is overseeing the construction of the Trenton facility.

Large racial disparities

While deaths appear to be declining, New Jersey has a higher maternal mortality rate than neighboring states and the nation at large, according to federal data. It also has huge racial disparities in birth outcomes; Black women are nearly seven times — and Hispanic women some 3.5 times — more likely to die while pregnant, delivering a baby or in the postpartum period when compared to white mothers here, state figures show.

Lisa Asare, CEO of the authority, said its first year was dedicated largely to building strong connections with health care providers, policymakers and community organizations and listening closely to people with firsthand experience around pregnancy and childbirth. “Our progress in 2024 has been both impactful and encouraging. However, we recognize that this is just the beginning. The challenges facing maternal and infant health are complex, and the road ahead requires continued dedication and innovation,” she wrote in an introduction to the report.

The report notes Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed state budget for the fiscal year that begins in July includes $3.22 million for the authority’s efforts, the same funding level state officials approved for the current year. The state has also amassed roughly $75 million — much of it from federal aid provided during the COVID-19 pandemic — to help build the maternal health facility in Trenton, which will be the authority’s headquarters and house related public programs.

The new facility

The maternal health center is planned for the corner of Pennington Avenue and Warren Street, across from the Trenton Battle Monument and next to the Henry J. Austin Health Center, a busy community clinic. State officials said they purchased the site, a trio of three largely vacant lots, from the Trenton Board of Education in 2024 for $2.6 million.

According to partnership agreements signed last year, the facility will also be home to reproductive health research and workforce development efforts led by the Rutgers School of Nursing and a support-service hub run by the Trenton Health Team, a nonprofit dedicated to improving health in the city. As anchor tenants, these groups will pay little or no rent, state officials said.

A separate agreement between the authority and Capital Health, a regional hospital network, calls for Capital Health to provide maternity care and other clinical services at or near the Trenton facility. Currently the closest hospital-based birthing center is in Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell, nearly 20 minutes away by car. Community outreach led by the state as part of the new center’s development found that Trenton residents want maternal health services closer to home.

The maternal health authority also appears to be increasingly aligned with a push to create a birthing clinic in a building across from the center’s site on Pennington Avenue, now being renovated by the Greater Mount Zion AME Church. That work is led in part by Rosalee Boyer, a social justice advocate married to Mount Zion Rev. Charles F. Boyer and a board member at the state maternal health authority. Asare joined Rosalee Boyer to talk about birthing in the Black community at a social justice event in March.

The agency in charge

The maternal health authority’s 13-member board includes six public members, including Boyer — a mix of health care and social service providers and policy experts, many of whom are Black women — and representatives from seven state agencies, including the EDA.

The authority’s portfolio has been shaped largely by work led by First Lady Tammy Murphy, who launched the Nurture NJ campaign in 2019 to improve New Jersey’s dismal maternal health outcomes. Since then, the Murphy administration has extended health insurance coverage for low-income mothers, increased state payments to reproductive health providers and worked to connect more needy families with support services.

The state has also invested in training for culturally competent doulas or nonclinical birth coaches who have been shown to improve outcomes. Some 344 doulas have been trained through this program, officials said, providing help with more than 800 births. New Jersey has also launched what will eventually be a statewide program called Family Connects that offers free, voluntary home visits by trained nurses for new mothers based on a proven model. Family Connects is currently available in 11 counties.

“This new authority ensures that the life-saving work of Nurture NJ will continue long after our administration and permanently make our state a national leader in maternal health,” Tammy Murphy said in the annual report.

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