While running for U.S. Senate, Tammy Murphy frequently highlighted her efforts to improve maternal health in New Jersey and made her publicly funded platform on this issue part of her political It was sometimes criticized for being used to promote political agendas.
With the Senate campaign suspended, Gov. Phil Murphy's wife is “more committed than ever” to making New Jersey a safer place to give birth and raise children, state officials say. It was revealed on Monday.
in video announcement Murphy posted on social media Sunday afternoon that he was ceasing his campaign to replace indicted Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) in the interest of the Democratic Party. She did not mention her closest competitor, Rep. Andy Kim (D-3rd place), by name, but said she needed to run a “divisive and negative campaign” to remain in the race for the Democratic nomination. “That's something I don't want to do,” he said. do. ” Monday was the deadline to file federal paperwork to participate in the June primary.
Murphy, who announced her intention to run for Senate in November, has consistently maintained that she would work to improve New Jersey's maternal health even before her Senate campaign. With or without her campaign, she said her efforts will continue.
“The First Lady is more than ever committed to improving maternal and child health outcomes in New Jersey and looks forward to the first meeting of the Maternal and Child Health Innovation Agency (MIHIA) Board of Directors this Wednesday. “We will continue the work of Nurture New Jersey to ensure all new mothers have the resources they need to support their growing families,” Murphy spokesperson Tyler Jones said Monday.
reduce racial disparities
Tammy Murphy has prioritized reducing New Jersey's significant racial disparities in birth outcomes and high maternal mortality rates, which, although improving in recent years, remain above the national average. The results are far worse than those in New York and Pennsylvania. She launched the Nurture NJ initiative in 2019 and spearheaded an action plan announced in 2021 to build the Center for Maternal and Child Health Innovation, a Trenton-based program that will continue this effort after Governor Murphy leaves office. We are working.
Tammy Murphy is scheduled to appear at the Health Innovation Center's first board meeting on Wednesday. Gov. Phil Murphy appointed six public members to the board in December, including Rosalie Boyer, a social justice leader and wife of the Rev. Charles Boyer of Greater Mount Zion AME Church in Trenton. . Mount Zion AME is also building a midwifery center in a building it owns in Trenton, something the city currently lacks.
Tammy Murphy talked about making New Jersey the “national model and gold standard for maternal care.”
Details of the Health Innovation Center's location and planned services are still in flux, but it will include a clinical birth center, space for research and policy development, space for parenting programs and lactation classes, and other community needs. expected to be included. The Murphy administration established an independent agency to oversee the work and secured about $100 million for the project, including $25 million received from the federal government earlier this month. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority is overseeing the center's development.
“This federal funding will ensure we have the resources to develop a first-class maternal and child health innovation center in Trenton and continue to advance our mission to make New Jersey the safest and most equitable state in the nation to provide health care.” It's essential to “raise the baby,'' Tammy Murphy said at the time. “This will not only help transform the maternal and child health landscape in New Jersey, but will also make New Jersey a national model and gold standard for maternal care.”
National efforts
The state has expanded protections for pregnancy, childbirth and parenting in recent years. One of his signature programs, a universal home visiting program for new mothers called Family Connects NJ, was announced in January after pilot projects in Mercer County and other states showed promise. It was launched in five counties.
When Murphy announced her Senate bid in November, she emphasized how her wealth and white privilege essentially protect her and her four children's health during childbirth.
Tammy Murphy made headlines shortly after launching the program in Trenton, and Governor Murphy included an additional $20 million for the program in her February budget, which lawmakers must adopt by July. This became the basis for a spending plan that must be made. .
“Family Connect New Jersey is one of the most impactful programs the administration has implemented for mothers and babies, and it provides visiting nurses with the ability to identify complications early and connect families with critical care. “This will give us the ability to connect people with essential resources and save lives,” Tammy Murphy said in a statement. New funding announced. “This is how New Jersey puts mothers and babies first.”
her Senate bid
when murphy He announced his candidacy for the Senate in a four-minute video in November., she emphasized how her wealth and white privilege essentially protected her and her four children's health at birth. But she said that's not the case for many other people in New Jersey, especially black women, who are nearly seven times more likely to die during childbirth than white women. “I realized that I had a platform to help other mothers who weren't as fortunate as me,” she said in a video in November.
Mr. Murphy's withdrawal from the increasingly competitive campaign is seen as paving the way for Mr. Kim. Mr. Kim has secured support in many counties and is suing to challenge the way top candidates are promoted by party officials, which has largely benefited Mr. Murphy. Labor leader and advocate Patricia Campos Medina and community organizer Larry Hamm are also seeking the Democratic nomination, while business leader Curtis Bashaw is leading the Republican campaign.
