July 20, 2023
On Monday, July 17, 2023, Governor Phil Murphy signed S3864 into law, establishing the New Jersey Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority, as well as appropriating money to open a state Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center in Trenton.
The Authority will be led by a 15-member board that includes seven members of Governor Murphy's cabinet, as well as eight members of the public who are yet to be appointed. Additionally, the board will be required to coordinate with a separate 11-member advisory committee of maternal and infant health providers and those who have received such care, as reported on newjerseymonitor.com.
Governor Murphy was joined by his wife, First Lady Tammy Murphy, at a legislation signing event in Trenton on Monday. First Lady Murphy launched the Nurture NJ initiative in 2019, a statewide program that has worked to reduce the maternal and infant mortality epidemic in New Jersey and to enable equitable health care among women and children of all races and ethnicities. First Lady Murphy was quoted on northjersey.com having said at the ceremony, "We all feel an instinctive need to protect our mothers and babies, a need to ensure that every family begins its life together in health, wellness and joy, and I am beyond proud to see New Jersey lead this effort to improve the lives of mothers and babies here in our state and across the country for generations to come."
The New Jersey Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority will oversee the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center, which will provide pre- and postnatal services, offer perinatal workforce training, and research new models of care.
First Lady Murphy was also quoted on newjerseymonitor.com, saying, "This center will be an incubator for research and development, an academic and perinatal workforce training center, a data collaborative, and so much more . . . It will offer comprehensive clinical services for moms before, during, and after pregnancy."
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