In June 2022, a federal civil rights investigation began after allegations of racism and discrimination in the death of a woman in 2016. Kira Johnson delivered her second son at the hospital by cesarean section but died hours later from hemorrhaging. HHS received complaints over the standard of care provided to Black women receiving labor and delivery services.
The investigation did not determine any violation of federal law by Cedars-Sinai in its review, according to a Jan. 16 HHS news release.
Before the compliance review, Cedars-Sinai instituted efforts to reduce discrimination and bias at the system, including instituted mandatory annual unconscious bias education for staff and creating internal quality improvement programs. Under the new agreement, Cedars-Sinai will collaborate with HHS to:
- Update and implement recommendations in the OB-GYN unit.
- Update training program to address legal nondiscrimination requirements and promote diversity and equity.
- Update guidelines and track success rates for vaginal births after cesarean section and patient management, and provide training for these protocols and for obstetrical hemorrhage management.
- Review the current oversight, supervision and peer-review practices and make recommendations to be incorporated into onboarding and annual training.
- Update reporting tool to document incidents of bias or suspected bias.
- Develop and implement a program to provide doula resources to patients during labor and delivery.
“We embrace the opportunity to partner with OCR to strengthen our longstanding commitment to equity for all those who entrust us with their care,” Christina Harris, MD, chief health equity officer at Cedars-Sinai, said in the release. “We are dedicated to ensuring safe and equitable outcomes through education, accountability, and rigorous quality initiatives aimed at addressing disparities in maternal health. We appreciate the voices of the patients and the community in advocating for progress as we continue to advance this urgent work.”
