2021-22 Health Equity Scholar

Nurse Midwife, Baystate Health, Springfield, MA

• Currently chairs a committee on racial disparities and health equity at her institution’s Obstetrics and Gynecology department.

• Joined with a project idea to refine a proposal that she and a group of clinicians were bringing to the CEO at her institution, which focused on action steps for an anti-racist institution. The proposal included cultural, structural, and clinical measures.

• Following completion of the program, Tonja had successes, including:

• Presentation of a comprehensive list of recommendations to the CEO.

• Collaborating on improvements in the data collection in the department, including a system that reports several important outcomes stratified by race and ethnicity (such as C-section and postpartum hemorrhage rates).

• Creation of patient care unit bulletin boards that focus on health disparities and racial inequities and simultaneously highlight stories of joy and celebrate birth experiences.

• HES helped Tonja to utilize her leadership experiences in her department to create new initiatives, focus on team building and capacity building at her institution and empowering others to participate (and lead) health equity work..