Nurse midwives could ease Louisiana's infant mortality crisis. So, why hasn't the state embraced them?
Not a single doctor provides obstetric care in 17 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes.
Financial incentives to persuade more OB-GYNs to move to rural communities have not changed that fact.
As medical recruiters double their salaries and offer signing bonuses, the state is doing little to help attract a group of health care providers that could fill that dangerous gap: Certified nurse midwives.
Hospitals across Louisiana are refusing to hire them, despite extensive credentials. Other facilities won't give them admitting privileges. Louisiana pays nurse midwives less through Medicaid than many other states.
Dr. Rakhi Dimino, medical director for OB Hospitalist Group, which hires obstetricians and nurse midwives nationwide, said unless Louisiana alters course, “We will never be able to serve all the women who need care.”
The scarcity of nurse midwives is one reason Louisiana has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the developed world, and why mothers often fare no better. (NOLA.com 09/21/23) Nurse midwives could improve Louisiana's birth outcomes | Health care/Hospitals | nola.com
No comments:
Post a Comment