North Texas
Maternal Health Accelerator
How Dallas-Fort Worth United to Improve Maternal Health Care
View Full Announcement VideoMHA Research Project
Addressing Maternal Morbidity
Maternal Health Accelerator Raises More Than $25 Million To Improve Maternal Morbidity Rates in North Texas
The Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have joined forces to address some of the highest maternal morbidity rates in the country by forming the North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator (MHA). Since December 2024, philanthropic partners across North Texas have committed nearly $25 million to support the MHA’s maternal health initiatives.
Powered by the Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL), the MHA tracks maternal health outcomes in near real-time in partnership with the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) and coordinates a hospital and community provider network with the support of My Health My Resources of Tarrant County (MHMR).
Goals
The MHA’s dual goals are to (1) reduce severe obstetric complications (SOCs) by more than 20% over three years through implementation of novel technologies and strategies, and (2) develop economic models that reward maternal health improvements via sustainable incentives for keeping mothers and babies healthy.
Four Evidence-Based Interventions
PRENATAL IRON DISTRIBUTION
MHA’s first initiative addresses the region’s most common severe obstetric complication (SOC): blood transfusions. Free, over-the-counter iron supplements are being distributed to pregnant mothers by more than 100 clinics and community sites in Tarrant and Dallas counties to reduce their risk of needing a blood transfusion during or after delivery. This intervention is based on research from UT Southwestern and Parkland Health that showed about a one-third decrease in blood transfusions among patients who were given prenatal iron supplements from their healthcare provider, rather than being recommended to take the once-a-day pills.
STANDARDIZED SIMULATIONS
Postpartum Hemorrhage Simulation: MHA physicians and nurses participate in simulations at hospitals to implement the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) obstetric hemorrhage patient safety bundle. This multidisciplinary simulation model is shown to improve clinical performance. MHA experts observe simulations, provide feedback, and share best practices.
Hospital Coding Practices: MHA partners collaborate on coding standardization so that reported rates of complications accurately reflect clinical realities and practice. Hospital teams review charts to ensure coding best practices are consistent. Participating hospitals then follow standard practice by submitting administrative claims files to the DFW Hospital Council Foundation.
POSTPARTUM HYPERTENSION CARE
The MHA works with area hospitals to ensure critical postpartum care to high-risk mothers by providing home blood pressure cuffs with multi-disciplinary care teams, which could include nurses, social workers, perinatal community health workers (CHWs), doulas, and advanced practice providers (APPs). These teams work with community-based partners, such as My Health My Resources of Tarrant County (MHMR), to ensure continuity of care for postpartum women.
COMMUNITY RESOURCES & SUPPORT
MHA connects mothers and families to resources and support:
Parent Pass: The free Parent Pass app serves Tarrant and Dallas counties as a “one-stop shop” for health and education resources, free events and activities, and quality childcare. Users can search for current MHA iron distribution sites and connect with care providers in English or Spanish.
Care Navigation: The MHA has adopted Help Me Grow, a national evidence-based model that links families to child development information and community resources. In addition, My Health My Resources of Tarrant County (MHMR) offers care navigation training to external organizations. Families can also find support via the Parent Pass app or community partners such as the United Way Metropolitan of Dallas.
Community Partnership: Through the Community Outreach Group (COG), the MHA works closely with partner organizations, including community- and faith-based organizations, to align resources and coordinate processes and systems for high-risk patients in neighborhoods with the highest rates of maternal morbidity
Tracking Outcomes: The Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation’s (PCCI) Maternal Outcomes Monitoring System (MOMS) is a community-focused dashboard that offers a holistic view into maternal health vulnerability throughout Dallas and Tarrant counties. The MOMS presents a new, validated Maternal Risk Forecast Index that combines insights from social and health data to anticipate a community’s vulnerability to adverse maternal health and subsequent newborn outcomes, and identify areas of health inequities.
North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator



Philanthropic Partners
Our philanthropic funders have committed nearly $25M to support MHA. These supporters* include:
- Episcopal Health Foundation
- Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
- Arlington Tomorrow Foundation
- James & Dorothy Doss Foundation
- George & Fay Young Foundation
- Harold Simmons Foundation
- Kimberly-Clark Corporation
- North Texas Community Foundation
- Sid W. Richardson Foundation
- Rainwater Charitable Foundation
*non-exhaustive list
Community Responses

Rose Bradshaw
President & CEO
North Texas Community Foundation
“Dallas and Fort Worth are such distinct communities, and our families sit in a region where they are served by hospital systems that are serving many families. It is important that we work in a coordinated fashion and share solutions that are community based but also can be scaled. We want to make sure that no matter what zip code you’re born in whether it’s Dallas or Fort Worth you have the best opportunity to thrive.”

Latasha Jarrett, M.D.
Chief Medical Director
HHM Health
“We’re very appreciative of the ability to be able to give iron supplements to our moms. We serve such a diverse patient population and anything that we can do to improve maternal and fetal outcomes we’re always very interested. This has been a real win for us organizationally as well as for our patients.”

Steve Miff, Ph.D.
CEO
Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation
“We’re so privileged to be a part of this coalition to bring some of the advanced analytics that we’ve developed over the years to support this program. It takes a whole connected community to be able to impact the lives of women and provide improved maternal care. We’re using data to precisely reach women in communities with the greatest maternal care needs and personalize these lifesaving interventions.“

Cameron Combs
Senior Director
Child Poverty Action Lab
“North Texas is special. There are things we have in our region that don’t exist in other parts of the country and the innovative maternal care models that we have are scalable not only in Texas but across the United States. We’ve brought together the most innovative maternal care research, services, and care in Fort Worth, Arlington, and Dallas to do things that we couldn’t have imagined to be possible when this initiative first started.”

Brandi Buss, B.S.N, RN
Network Director of Perinatal Services
My Health My Resources of Tarrant County
“This effort by the Maternal Health Accelerator (MHA) gives us the opportunity to reach women where they are. By putting all our resources together, we can be more effective at reaching women in high-risk areas with maternal care resources that we may not have been able to reach as individual organizations. We’re removing barriers for access to care and taking these critical resources to moms and their families to make sure they have everything they need.”

Sadie Funk
National Director
Best Place for Kids®
“The North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator creates an opportunity to save the lives of mothers and babies in North Texas, improve long-term health outcomes for our community, and ensure that North Texas has a strong foundation for every mother, baby, and family to thrive. Through the combination of evidence-based, relationship-centered practices alongside high-tech innovations, our region is perfectly poised to scale proven interventions for moms and babies across North Texas. We are honored to be a part of the solution and proud of the unprecedented collaborative work of our hospital and healthcare coalition partners who have proven that together, we can achieve transformative change.”

Sara J. Redington
Chief Philanthropy Officer
The Miles Foundation
“We believe that connecting moms and families in North Texas with resources that they need is impactful. We will continue to listen to moms and parents to understand their needs and improve Parent Pass®, a first of its kind technology, with their input. We think Texas is coming to the forefront of developing something that is going to be a life changer for moms and babies.”

Adam Powell
President & CEO
United Way of Tarrant County
“This is something that as an organization we have committed too and different partners in both counties are committed to it. We will continue to lead this work and do this work because we owe it to mothers, we owe it to our respective communities, and all the organizations that have identified this as being one of our major healthcare challenges and that’s what United Way stands on.”
September 29, 2026
Read StoryKERA
Tarrant County nonprofit is awarded $4 million to make pregnancy and childbirth safer
September 25, 2026
Watch HereNBC DFW
After a premature birth, North Texas mom found help. Now state invests $4 million in maternal health program
October 1, 2026
Read HereDallas Morning News
North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator wins $4 million state grant
September 30, 2026
Read HereFort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth gets $4 million boost to tackle maternal health
September 30, 2026
Read HereFort Worth Report
North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator gets $4M in state funding
May 15, 2026
Read HereD Magazine
Can Predictive Analytics Help Reverse North Texas’ Maternal Health Crisis?
May 12, 2026
Read HereFort Worth Star-Telegram
A new path to better maternal health in North Texas. Here’s how it works
March 28, 2026
Read HereDallas Morning News
Opinion: A North Texas health coalition tackles maternal health
November 20, 2025
Listen HereGo Time in Fort Worth with Mayor Mattie Parker Podcast
Stronger Together: A regional mission for moms and babies
November 17, 2025
Watch HereWFAA-TV
TCU researchers and physicians talk investing in maternal healthcare and prenatal care
November 17, 2025
Watch HereNBC DFW
North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator launches at TCU with $25M
November 17, 2025
Read MoreFort Worth Report
North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator launches at TCU with $25M
November 18, 2025
Read MoreStar-Telegram
TCU leads new collaboration with hospitals to help save pregnant women’s lives
November 17, 2025
Read MoreKERA News
North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator launches at TCU with $25M
November 17, 2025
Read MorePhilanthropy News Digest
North Texas launches $25 million effort to curb maternal health crisis
November 18, 2025
Read MoreFort Worth Magazine
North Texas Health Services Unite to Launch Maternal Health Accelerator
November 18, 2025
Read MoreSDGtalks.ai
North Texas launches $25 million effort to curb maternal health crisis – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
November 17, 2025
Read MoreUT Southwestern Medical Center
Maternal Health Accelerator raises nearly $25 million to improve maternal morbidity rates in North Texas
November 7, 2025
Watch VideoNational Media Coverage
Burnett School of Medicine at TCU's initiatives garner national media attention.
March 17, 2025
Watch VideoABC News
Texas community comes together to find new solutions to end infant mortality
July 14, 2025
Read MoreFort Worth Report
Fort Worth-led push to decrease maternal, infant deaths connects mothers with resources
Download Parent Pass App
View Maternal Outcomes Monitoring System (MOMS) Dashboard
MHA Launch News Release
MHA Kickoff Photo Gallery 












