Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a federal civil rights agency have reached an agreement to improve treatment of Black, Latina and other pregnant patients of color at the hospital, officials said Thursday.
The agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights resolves complaints alleging racial bias in maternal care at Cedars-Sinai, the agency said.
The civil rights office “did not determine any violation of federal law by Cedars-Sinai in its review,” HHS said.
In June 2022, the government agency opened a compliance review of the medical center based on what it described as patient equal access concerns, HHS said.
The agency said that prior to the review, Cedars-Sinai had undertaken “substantial efforts to understand and mitigate the effects of discrimination and bias in health care.”
For example, HHS said, Cedars-Sinai instituted mandatory annual “unconscious bias education” for staff while creating internal quality improvement programs and collaborating closely with community partners to improve Black maternal health outcomes.
The agreement demonstrates the civil rights office and Cedars-Sinai’s “shared goals of promoting health equity and eliminating bias and discrimination in health care,” the agency said.
“Disparities in maternal health outcomes for Black and Latina women and other women of color continue to get worse across the nation as racial bias permeates our health care system, affecting how decisions are made and the treatment given to women of color,” OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer said in a statement.
“Our entire health care system must work to ensure that every woman has equal access to care at every single stage — through pregnancy, birth and postpartum. We are encouraged by these important steps taken by Cedars-Sinai to address health disparities for women of color at its facilities and look forward to their continued work in this area to support its patients. OCR is committed to fully enforcing our civil rights laws to ensure all people can access health care, free from discrimination.”
Christina Harris, chief health equity officer at Cedars-Sinai, said, “We embrace the opportunity to partner with OCR to strengthen our longstanding commitment to equity for all those who entrust us with their care.”
Harris said in a statement Thursday that the hospital is “dedicated to ensuring safe and equitable outcomes through education, accountability and rigorous quality initiatives aimed at addressing disparities in maternal health. We appreciate the voices of the patients and the community in advocating for progress as we continue to advance this urgent work.”
Under the agreement, Cedars-Sinai will collaborate with OCR to:
— Update and implement recommendations to Cedars-Sinai’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Department’s staff, including early maternal warning systems to facilitate timely recognition, diagnosis and treatment for pregnant women developing critical illness;
— Update its training program addressing federal legal nondiscrimination requirements, preventing discrimination and harassment in health care and promoting diversity and equity, and will make recommendations to its executive committee to require training for re-credentialing medical staff;
— Update its guidelines and continue to track success rates for vaginal births after cesarean section and pain-management process to assess and manage acute pain for birthing patients and provide training for these protocols and for obstetrical hemorrhage management;
— Review by Cedars-Sinai leadership, the current oversight, supervision and peer-review practices and make recommendations to be incorporated into new hire and annual re-training of staff;
— Update or enhance its reporting tool to document incidents of bias or suspected bias experienced by patients and the public;
— Incorporate completion of courses that raise awareness about racial disparities in maternal mortality and morbidity rates in the United States into its training program; and
— Develop and implement a program to facilitate patient access to doula resources and utilization of doulas — a non-medical companion who offers physical and emotional support throughout childbirth — in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department during labor and delivery.
The HHS civil rights office will monitor the resolution agreement for three years.