Just when you thought the drought was bad, deserts have started popping up in Nebraska. Pick a topic: childcare; food; maternal health care.They have been discussed in the interim by lawmakers and deserve to be included among bills under consideration next session. It’s time to start looking at problems affecting Nebraskans and not the national agenda of one political party.
For example, the state could help encourage more doctors to dedicate their time and specialty to labor and delivery care if the dangers of maternal health care deserts are addressed, state Sen.
Jen Day of Omaha recently told members of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee. She was joined by doctors, maternal health experts and hospital administrators during an interim study hearing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define a maternal desert as any county without a hospital or birth center offering obstetric care. In Nebraska, nearly 52% of the 93 counties qualify.
