Nevada Health Centers, High Risk Pregnancy Center and Hera Women’s Health announce the launch of a program aimed at improving access to maternal and prenatal care for high-risk pregnancies in the city of Pahrump, in Nye County. The program expects to start seeing patients in late 2025.
Named the Medical Maternity Home Program, this collaborative effort will involve coordinated patient care and outreach, while leveraging maternal-fetal medicine; obstetrician-gynecologists; advanced practitioners; behavioral health providers; community health workers; Women, Infants, and Children services; and telehealth services to reach affected pregnant women in Nye County.
“We are grateful for SilverSummit’s vision, support, and partnership as we prepare to launch this program in Pahrump,” said Nevada Health Centers CEO Walter Davis. “Right now, women who are expecting must travel long distances to get prenatal care. This can be expensive and time consuming, and by offering OB services locally, in tandem with primary care and other wrap-around care, we keep people in their communities, getting the care they need and deserve.”
“Nye County is a maternity care desert, meaning that there are an insufficient number of maternity care providers,” said Dr. Steven Evans, chief medical officer for SilverSummit Healthplan. “This scarcity in maternity providers results in pregnant women needing to travel long distances to receive prenatal and postpartum care, which contributes to poor birth outcomes such as pre-term birth and low birth weight.”
“Our goal with the Medical Maternity Home Program is to bring together a multidisciplinary team of specialists to ensure every mother and baby in rural Nevada has access to the high-quality care they deserve,” said Dr. Brian Iriye, president of Hera Women’s Health. “By fostering partnerships and utilizing innovative solutions, we aim to overcome the challenges faced by underserved communities and improve maternal and neonatal outcomes across the region.”
Nevada Health Centers will utilize its existing office space in Pahrump and provide complex case management delivered by registered nurses to at-risk women. The High Risk Pregnancy Center and Hera Women’s Health will provide various prenatal services, including ultrasounds, genetic counseling, behavioral health as appropriate by provider level, and delivery services.
Funding for the Medical Maternity Health Program will be provided by the Centene Foundation, which will allocate $1 million over three years; an additional $100,000 will be provided by SilverSummit Healthplan.