Joia Adele Crear-Perry, MD – Quality Talks 2020

Black mamas matter. Joia Crear-Perry, MD, repeats that wherever she can, whenever she can, to whoever will listen. She especially presses policymakers with her prescription for improving maternal health. (Hint: It includes quality measurement.) “Ultimately, what Black women in the U.S. need is accountability,” she says. “We need to know that our lives are valued.”

But Black American women die within a year of giving birth at three to four times the rate of White women. Add to that glaring disparity that we are the only developed country on the planet where maternal mortality rates are on the rise.

Dr. Crear-Perry is founder and president of the National Birth Equity Collaborative. Her numerous honors include the Congressional Black Caucus Healthcare Hero’s award. She sums up her own story like this: “Her love is her family; health equity is her passion; maternal and child health are her callings.”