• California/Illinois: GE Healthcare has signed a new 10-year deal to support imaging services at UCSF Health. Through the deal, GE Healthcare will implement remote scanning capabilities, train staff, and improve MRI performance at the health system. According to GE Healthcare CFO James Saccaro, the company's new deal with UCSF Health is part of the system's push to "enhance how they provide care in efficient ways to their customers." Recently, GE Healthcare has partnered with several large health systems, including Sutter Health and UC San Diego Health, to help with services through long-term deals. In an earnings call last month, GE Healthcare CEO Peter Arduini said the company had signed enterprise deals worth $7 billion over the last three years. (Taylor, Healthcare Dive, 2/27)
• Georgia: According to new CDC data, there were 17.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 births in 2024, a decrease from the 18.6 deaths per 100,000 births in 2023. The maternal mortality rate in 2024 was also the lowest since 2018, which had a maternal mortality rate of 17.4 deaths per 100,000 births. During the COVID-19 pandemic, maternal mortality rates hit their highest level in over 50 years, but since 2021, they have declined. Eugene Declercq, a researcher from Boston University, said that available preliminary data suggests that maternal mortality rates continued declining in 2025. However, Declercq noted that while "the declines are welcome […] they are small and only bring us back to where we were 6 years ago" before the COVID-19 pandemic. There also continues to be significant racial disparities when it comes to maternal mortality, with Black women dying at much higher rates than white, Hispanic, or Asian, women. Maternal mortality rates were also highest among women ages 40 and older. (Kekatos, ABC News, 3/3; Associated Press, 3/4)
• Georgia: CDC has issued a level 2 travel advisory for 32 countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and Finland, due to documented circulation of poliovirus in the locations. A level 2 advisory does not recommend against traveling to these countries. Instead, it encourages American travelers to practice enhanced precautions when visiting any of the flagged countries. Travelers should make sure they are up to date on their polio vaccines. Adults who have previously been vaccinated against polio can also receive a booster dose of the vaccine. Although polio is rare in the United States, international travel can increase the risk of exposure to the virus if outbreaks occur in other countries, CDC said. (Lloyd, Rolling Out, 3/5; Chen, USA Today, 3/5)

The United States is the only industrialized nation where maternal mortality and morbidity rates have increased in recent years. All U.S. demographic groups experience an elevated risk of adverse outcomes, but Black and Native American patients experience devastating rates of complications. Learn how to create point-of-delivery care standards and emergency protocols to reduce maternal mortality.