The Department of Health and Senior Services’ Division of Community and Public Health is responsible for conducting the state’s Maternal Mortality Review known as the Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (PAMR) program pursuant to 192.990 RSMo.
During the 2018-2019 session, Missouri legislators passed Senate Bill 514, establishing PAMR. As directed in the law, the Director of the Department of Health and Senior Services appoints members to serve on the PAMR board. The board meets every other month in a closed meeting to examine summaries put together by a trained nurse abstractor. The summaries are compilations of de-identified information about medical encounters, vital statistics, autopsy reports, newspaper articles, social media postings, and/or other relevant records. The board completes a Committee Decision Form for each maternal mortality case to assist with data entry and analysis. Documents and data collected for the maternal mortality review process are confidential; the board is prohibited from releasing any information that could identify individuals.
PAMR Board Representation
The PAMR board consists of approximately 18 geographically diverse members representing various specialties that interact and impact maternal health.
The following stakeholders/organizations are represented on the PAMR board, but this list may not be all inclusive at any given time. The PAMR program seeks to identify membership based upon geographic location and area of expertise especially in Missouri communities most affected by maternal mortality.