Jacob Warren, Ph.D., MBA, CRA, Rufus C. Harris Endowed Chair and director of the Center for Rural Health and Health Disparities in Mercer University School of Medicine, has been appointed by United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra to the federal Advisory Committee on Infant and Maternal Mortality (ACIMM). 

ACIMM helps to shape the all-of-government response to maternal and infant mortality in the United States by advising the secretary of health and human services on activities, partnerships, policies and programs directed at reducing infant mortality, maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity; and improving the health status of infants and women before, during and after pregnancy.   

“I am truly honored to have been appointed to ACIMM by Secretary Becerra,” said Dr. Warren. “Finding ways to improve maternal and infant health throughout the country is complex and requires coordinated efforts to truly move the needle. The work of the committee – specifically in bringing together leadership from throughout the federal government with the expertise of outside individuals – has true potential to address the stark inequities that exist in maternal and infant health outcomes.” 

As part of its recommendations to the secretary, ACIMM advises on how best to coordinate federal, state, local, tribal and territorial governmental efforts designed to improve infant mortality, related adverse birth outcomes and maternal health, as well as influence similar efforts in the private and voluntary sectors.  

ACIMM also provides guidance and recommendations to the secretary on policies, programs, resources and structural/systems level changes required to address related health inequities.

In addition to outside members, ACIMM includes senior leadership from numerous federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor and others.

Dr. Warren’s work focuses on achieving health equity by building academic-community partnerships, developing stakeholder-driven interventions and creating data-driven policy recommendations. Among other projects, he currently directs a $5.6 million federally-funded initiative that is expanding access to prenatal and postpartum clinical care and case management in a 10-county region of rural southern Georgia.

He is actively involved in shaping policy at the state and federal level and serves on several state committees focused on maternal and infant health.