Igniting Change in Women’s Health: A Q&A with Leaders from Premier and Ascension

At Modern Healthcare’s Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon, Kaycee Kalpin, Chief Marketing Officer at Premier, led a powerful conversation with Sally Deitch, Executive Vice President of Nursing and Operations Infrastructure at Ascension, and Tamyra Porter, Managing Director-Regulatory Practice Lead, Advisory Services at Premier.

Together, they explored the intersection of women’s health and maternal health, rural health and more – and discussed how health systems can build community-driven solutions that meet women where they are.

Below is an edited Q&A excerpt from their conversation. Prefer video? You can also watch the full panel discussion.

Kaycee Kalpin:

When we talk about women in healthcare, we often focus on those in leadership roles. But it’s important to remember that women also make the vast majority of healthcare decisions at home—about 80 percent of them. And yet, they’re also more likely to delay or skip care themselves, often because of financial pressures or caregiving responsibilities. Why is this a critical issue for healthcare systems to solve?

Sally Deitch:

This is incredibly important to us at Ascension. One in every 50 babies in the U.S. is born at an Ascension facility. While we do serve urban areas, the majority of our care happens in rural and underserved communities. So, when we talk about maternal health, we’re really talking about the health of the entire community. We can’t only focus on what happens inside the hospital, we have to look at the broader picture.

Tamyra Porter:

Medicaid pays for over half of all births in the U.S., so I’ve spent much of my career working with states on how to deliver more comprehensive, whole-person care, starting with early identification in pregnancy. But also thinking beyond that: Are we providing transportation? Childcare? Access to doulas? And crucially, are we building a workforce that reflects the women we serve?

Kaycee:

People often say, “healthcare is broken,” and there’s truth to that, but I believe there’s also hope. What’s something working well today that we can build on?

Sally:

I think the key is shifting your point of view. I always come back to a quote from Pope Francis: “Only from the periphery can you see the center.” If you’re standing in a hospital, you can’t fully see the realities people face in their everyday lives. For example, the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country and it’s getting worse after delivery, not better. We have to understand the social context of our patients’ lives.

Tamyra:

Yes, and part of that is connecting the data. Too often in public programs, data is collected for compliance and not for care coordination. We need to flatten those silos. I worked on a project in Florida where we focused on linking child welfare and healthcare data to look at households holistically. That’s how you start to truly address intergenerational issues, especially in rural and underserved areas.

Kaycee:

Premier’s research found a huge data gap, we weren’t connecting maternal and infant outcomes in a way that told the full story. How do you approach collecting and using data that’s actually meaningful?

Sally:

At Ascension, we’ve conducted more than 4 million social determinants of health assessments across our patient base. That tells us what’s happening outside the clinic, things like food insecurity or housing instability, which varies dramatically from one community to the next. We’ve learned that the needs in Indiana aren’t the same as those in Tennessee. And those insights guide how we build community-based support.

Tamyra:

Prenatal visit rates, access to telehealth, even creative incentives—those are leading indicators we can influence. When we remove access barriers like transportation or time off work, we see better outcomes downstream.

Kaycee:

Let’s talk about healthcare’s workforce—75 percent of which is women. What are health systems doing to support their own employees, particularly women who may be pregnant or caregiving?

Sally:

We started a program at Ascension called “Baby Bump.” It’s designed to help employees connect with care, whether they’re pregnant, adopting or struggling with fertility. It includes access to navigators, clinical support and emotional resources. And it’s not just for nurses, we have to think about housekeepers, food service workers and others who might not know how to access these resources. Supporting them improves care for everyone.

Tamyra:

We worked with one large employer in the U.S. to explore how health systems, as anchor institutions, can support economic mobility. If we help an entry-level worker advance their career, we don’t just support that individual—we uplift their entire community. Investing in women on your team means investing in better health outcomes beyond your walls.

Kaycee:

Before we wrap up, I want to leave people feeling energized, not overwhelmed. What gives you hope?

Sally:

Community partnerships. We recently opened Hotel Hope in New Orleans, a place for women and children escaping abuse. When a child walks in and says, “I’ve never had my own toy,” you realize you’re not just providing shelter, but you’re also breaking cycles. That’s powerful.

Tamyra:

I always come back to this: Are we satisfied with the results we’re seeing? If not, we each have a role to play. It might feel complex, but we’re all here with the tools and gifts to make an impact. So, let’s lean in and lock arms.

Closing thoughts:

The panel made one thing clear: solving for women’s health is solving for community health. Healthcare organizations have the power, and responsibility, to lead meaningful change for women and all populations they serve. Whether it’s expanding access to maternal care, strengthening the workforce or bridging data gaps, the work ahead is multifaceted, but it’s also deeply impactful. Premier is proud to stand alongside partners like Ascension and leaders across the country who are driving innovative, community-based solutions. Together, we’re working toward a future where every woman, no matter her ZIP code, has the care and support she deserves.

For more:

• Explore our solutions to learn more about how Premier supports community-based care and women’s health.