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Charlotte NC

Adams Announces State of the Union Guest

February 5, 2020

Charlotte, NC – Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D., (NC-12) announced Pam Oliver, MD as her guest at the President's State of the Union address to the United States Congress on Tuesday, February 4, 2020.

"I am honored to be joined at the State of the Union address by one of Novant Health's most significant executive leaders, Dr. Pam Oliver," said Congresswoman Adams. "I want to take the opportunity of the State of the Union to talk about Black Maternal Health, and Dr. Oliver's expertise as an OB-GYN, as well as her work on infant mortality reduction. Her work is directly relevant to the improved health outcomes my colleagues and I are working hard to accomplish."

Novant Health employs over 11,000 people in Mecklenburg County and had over 2.8 million patient encounters in the Charlotte area in 2019.

Pam Oliver, MD is executive vice president and president of Novant Health Physician Network. She is responsible for medical group operations, Care Connections, clinic quality and safety initiatives as well as provider education, enrollment and engagement efforts. Oliver is a board-certified ob-gyn and has been practicing at Novant Health WomanCare since 2005. Oliver received her undergraduate degree in biology and her medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Morehead Scholar and Board of Governors' scholarship recipient. She also earned her master's degree in public health (maternal and child health concentration) from the UNC School of Public Health while enrolled in medical school. Her main interests are reproductive health and racial disparities in health outcomes. Oliver completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Congresswoman Alma Adams is co-founder of the Black Maternal Health Caucus. The United States has the worst maternal health outcomes in the developed world, at 18 deaths per 100,000 live births. The maternal mortality rate is alarmingly higher among black women, at 40 deaths per 100,000 live births. Black women are nearly four times more likely than white women – and more than twice as likely as women of other races – to die from preventable, pregnancy-related complications. Additionally, Black women are twice as likely to lose an infant to premature death. The disparities in America's health system have not improved for more than 30 years. The Black Maternal Health Caucus aims to raise awareness within Congress to establish Black maternal health as a national priority, and explore and advocate for effective, evidence-based, culturally-competent policies and best practices for health outcomes for Black mothers.

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