Maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States remain among the highest of all high-income countries, revealing deep structural gaps in how maternal care is organized and delivered. Addressing these challenges requires systems-level improvements, as issues such as limited geographic access, safety concerns in low-volume hospitals, facility closures, and mismatches between patient risk and facility capability all interact to shape maternal outcomes. This talk highlights how mathematical modeling can help us understand these complex, interrelated system-level issues and support evidence-based strategies to strengthen maternal healthcare delivery.

Featuring Lauren N. Steimle, PhD, Assistant Professor, H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Tech Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems. Dr. Steimle's research involves the creation of industrial engineering and operations research (IE/OR) methodologies to answer decision-making problems arising in public health and medicine. Her areas of research include medical decision-making, regionalized systems of healthcare delivery, and infectious disease prevention and control. Her work is motivated by addressing fundamental problems arising from challenges in maternal health, poliovirus, and chronic disease management, and COVID-19.

Offered online via Zoom. Please register to attend.