Dr. Lewis directs Northwell Health’s maternal health center, aiming to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality rates, particularly among Black women. The hospital’s holistic approach addresses health conditions that can occur from preconception through the first year after delivery. It also takes into account the social determinants that raise the risk of complications. One of Dr. Lewis’s key initiatives tackles institutional and structural racism via the implementation of unconscious and implicit bias training for all Northwell Health team members. The center, launched in April 2022, is working in partnership with Northwell’s Inclusion Academy to incorporate education and content about equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging into current organizational developmental programs by 2025. Her team is also continuously working to provide services ranging from simplified appointment scheduling to lactation advice to connections with urgent telebehavioral health services. Most recently, Dr. Lewis oversaw the rollout of an AI-based chatbot that will allow mothers to get answers to their questions via frequent automated conversations.
