This application form is now closed, as of the July 31, 2025. If there are specific expertise areas for which we still need to recruit as we consider existing applications, we will reach out in those areas.
We do always consider new applications from members of American Indian / Alaska Native Tribal, Indigenous, and urban Indian health communities.
BACKGROUND
In May 2019, Governor Inslee signed Senate Bill 5425 establishing a permanent Maternal Mortality Review Panel (MMRP, Panel) in our state. With the new legislation, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH, the Department) invites applications for membership every three years. It is time to empanel a new Panel, and we are accepting applications.
The law directs the Department of Health to convene a multidisciplinary Maternal Mortality Review Panel to conduct comprehensive reviews of maternal deaths in the state to determine which deaths are related to pregnancy, determine which deaths are preventable, identify factors surrounding the deaths, and make recommendations for health care and systems changes to improve maternal health and health care in our state.
For more information, please visit these websites:
Washington State Maternal Mortality Review Panel at the Department of Health
Washington State Maternal Mortality Review Report 2023
CDC ERASE MM
Black Mamas Matter Alliance
MMRP Expertise
All the Panel members serve in a volunteer capacity and do not receive compensation from the Department for their participation in the review process, as required by RCW 70.54.450.
Nominees are appointed by the Secretary of Health to serve for a term of three years (2025–2028).
The Panel includes experts such as:
- Tribal health or urban Indian health leaders and providers
- Medical, nursing, and service providers specializing in perinatal, obstetric, newborn, or pediatric care, such as clinicians, midwives, doulas, community health workers, nurses, social workers, other providers, including those with postpartum or neonatal expertise. This may also include experts in obstetric care with other relevant clinical expertise areas, such as cardiology, oncology, pediatrics, or autoimmune disorders.
- Birthing hospital or licensed birthing center representatives
- Coroners, medical examiners, or pathologists
- Experts and service providers focused on mental health, substance use disorder, and other aspects of behavioral health
- State agency representatives
- Experts in health equity and social determinants of health issues (e.g., racism, housing access) as they impact maternal mortality, perinatal care, and pregnancy outcomes
- Experts in intimate partner violence prevention
- Individuals with other expertise areas at the Department of Health’s discretion
- Individuals with relevant lived experience
- Individuals or organizations that represent the populations most affected by pregnancy-related deaths or pregnancy-associated deaths and lack of access to maternal health care services.
- In Washington, this includes people who have been pregnant and/or experienced childbirth AND who are Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Medicaid (Apple Health) recipients, from low-income backgrounds, or have experienced mental and behavioral health conditions such as opioid use disorder or postpartum depression.
- It also includes people who are closely related to people who meet these criteria.
- We are seeking all of the above types of expertise, and are especially interested in new members with the following expertise areas:
Tribal and urban Indian health, intimate partner violence, perinatal psychiatry, gyn-oncology, cardiology, pediatrics, rural health, suicide prevention, community organizations, local health departments in regions with fewer resources, family-friendly substance use treatment, legislative content, antiracism efforts, EMS, emergency departments, gang-related violence, in-hospital consultation for OB teams, and lived experience.
Expectations for MMRP members
State law RCW 70.54.450 mandates and enables the MMRP review process, protects the MMRP’s work, requires strict confidentiality, and requires that MMRP members do not receive compensation from the Department of Health for MMRP participation. MMRP members are appointed by the Secretary of Health at the beginning of their first three-year term.
The MMRP’s primary work is to participate in MMRP review meetings, respectfully discussing an anonymized and de-identified summary of a death that took place in pregnancy, birth, or up to one year after pregnancy. The goal is to determine whether each death was pregnancy-related and preventable; identify factors that contributed to each such death; and make systems-level recommendations to prevent future deaths.
These meetings are conducted virtually, typically every 6 – 8 weeks. Panel members are required to attend at least 3 review meetings per year (preferably more, as available); attend or view up to 6 short online presentations per year; participate in onboarding and health equity trainings; and respond to agency communications in a timely manner.
In addition to attending these meetings, trainings, and presentations, panel members volunteer in a variety of capacities, including one or more of the following:
- Providing consultation as subject-matter experts in their expertise area(s).
- Serving as a lead panel member to assist DOH staff with preparing for review meetings and providing key expertise at those meetings.
- Collaborating with DOH to prepare for legislative reports, including helping with the process to prioritize among systems and policy recommendations for the reports.
- Helping disseminate findings from legislative reports.
If appointed to the MMRP, panel members who do not respond to communications or do not participate in a minimum amount of Panel activities, including onboarding and training, may be assumed to no longer want to participate.
Any Panel member may end their appointment at any time for any reason.