- Well, First Lady Tammy Murphy got to deliver the news of the World Cup's economic impact in her role as host committee chair.

She also led the administration today, breaking ground on a new maternal health facility planted right in the heart of the state's capital and part of a years-long campaign.

The Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center is the culmination of First Lady Tammy Murphy's effort to confront one of New Jersey's most urgent health crises, the racial disparities that exist for maternal and infant health outcomes among black and brown families.

Through her Nurture NJ initiative, Murphy has been working to reverse the deep inequities in care.

I spoke with her earlier today about what the new center means for Trenton and why she believes the work must outlast her time in office.

(upbeat music) Madam First Lady, thank you for coming on the show.

You launched Nurture NJ in 2019.

Where does New Jersey stand right now in terms of the mission to improve some of those maternal mortality rates and how does this center represent really what may be seen as the next phase in that?

- Yeah, thank you, Brianna.

I'm really excited that we have made great progress.

Just in terms of maternal mortality rates, we've gone from 47th in the country to 28th since 2018.

We've also moved on infant mortality from fifth to second and on neonatal mortality, we've moved from sixth to first.

But there are myriad benchmarks at this point in time.

This is a very exciting moment because this will ensure that all of the great work that I've been doing together with so many thousands of stakeholders will continue.

And that's really just something that makes me incredibly happy and proud.

- What type of services are going to be offered there that will really target some of these disparities?

- So the center is anchored by three different tenants.

We have Rutgers and particularly Rutgers School of Nursing.

We have Capital Health and we have Trenton Teamworks.

And those three work hand in hand to not only provide the education for the perinatal workforce training, which is so urgently needed, as well as a data collaborative because everything we do is based on the data.

But also obviously Capital Health will be the provider of all the clinical services, the wraparound services will also be directed and enabled communicating with the community together with Trenton Teamworks.

So all coming together and working in conjunction with one another.

- We know obviously Trenton Proper no longer has an actual birthing hospital in the city.

Will there be a place for folks to give birth in this center?

- So really exciting.

We have a slogan in our office that says, "Not about us, without us."

And that means that we pay, we've paid very close attention and incorporate the community in everything we do.

And we have been on the ground through the Watson Institute at Kean University for the last three years, interviewing thousands of people to understand what are the needs actually on the ground as opposed to making an assumption as to what we think the needs are.

The great answer here is that this center is going to be the anchor of an entire ecosystem in Trenton.

We are bringing together a birthing center, a black birthing center through Greater Mount Zion Church, which is literally next door to the center.

And the Henry J. Austin Center is also nearby.

There's great access to public transit.

There are community gardens and green spaces.

So this is going to create an entire hub and be a place where one can go for birthing, for services thereafter, to understand policy, given we passed over 70 pieces of policy in the space over the past seven plus years.

So it's kind of bringing everything together.

- So we know often the groundbreakings are somewhat ceremonial.

Can you sort of loop us in on what we can expect for the construction and timeline and completion?

When will patients actually be able to walk through the doors and use some of these services?

- The center is slated to open in early 2027.

So that's when we expect to have patients walking through the door.

- I know that obviously this has been a hallmark of your time with the administration, but what gives you confidence that the work will continue, that this work will sustain and that the outcomes will continue to move in this direction?

- This is a nonpartisan issue, which is fantastic.

Everyone loves moms and babies.

And I can assure you that with the number of silos that have been broken down over the last number of years and the ability, giving everyone the ability to work together as a team across all sorts of areas, whether you're in healthcare, whether it's policy, whether it is the faith community, everyone has a vested interest in fixing this scourge.

And my absolute expectation is that with Lisa Asari as the CEO and president of the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority, she is going to spearhead this going forward in ways that will make me and all of us very proud down the road.

- First Lady Tammy Murphy, thanks so much for your time and for your perspective.

- Thanks, Piana.

- Support for The Medical Report is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

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