NYC making big investment in maternal health in Coney Island

NEW YORK -- On the eighth floor of NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, elected officials used a sledgehammer to hit an old wall, beginning work on a new integrated women's health center in Coney Island.

"Maternity care starts long before the birth of a child. We need to invest in the overall health, safety and psychological well-being of women throughout their reproductive life," hospital CEO Svetlana Lipyanskaya said.

The work begins following an $18.5 million allocation to the institution by Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in 2023.

"Brooklyn is the most dangerous place in all of New York City for a Black woman to have a baby. We're talking about Black women dying at eight times the rate as their white counterparts during childbirth," Reynoso said on Monday, adding the undertaking is imperative.

The new center will be loaded with tech

Hospital leaders say the new center is designed to address critical health care disparities in the area, and provide space for labor and delivery, a neonatal intensive care unit, nursery, and more.

"We will expand to 30 exam rooms, including about eight bariatric rooms; three procedural rooms with restrooms, six ultrasounds, a large reception area, seating over 50, with a dedicated children's corner, lactation space, stroller and wheelchair storage and spaces designated for education, community engagement and classes, something we've never done before," said Michelle Bekman, the hospital's chief growth officer.

Reynoso says it's time to "shock the system"

They say it's designed to be a one-stop-shop on the hospital's campus, which has recently been upgraded to build the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital building .

"The problem we've had with Black maternal health is that we've been working at the margins. We give a little bit here, we do a little bit there, and we don't affect meaningful change. Black women are still dying at a higher rate. What we need to do is shock the system," Reynoso said.

For some local leaders, like state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, the fight is personal.

"When I first gave birth to my daughter, Emily, who is now 10 years old, I almost hemorrhaged. And it was a midwife who made sure that that didn't happen," Scarcella-Spanton said.

Hospital leaders say the development of the center will be completed by Spring 2026.

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