Kim Gregory, MD, MPH, is the new chair of the California Pregnancy-Associated Review Committee (CA-PARC) formerly known as the California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (CA-PAMR). CA-PARC is responsible for conducting in-depth investigations of deaths during pregnancy and up to a year after the end of pregnancy to identify the causes, contributing factors, and prevention opportunities, in order to make actionable recommendations to prevent future maternal deaths. CDPH, in collaboration with the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC), appointed Dr. Gregory to lead the committee in recognition of her long-standing involvement with the committee, dedication to reducing California’s maternal morbidity and mortality rates, and her renowned medical expertise in the field of maternal health.
“We couldn't be more pleased about Dr. Gregory's appointment as Chair of the CA- PARC. Given her tenure as chair of the Southern California (SoCal) PAMR, her distinguished career as a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist and physician leader at Cedar Sinai, and her dedication to addressing maternal health outcome disparities, she couldn't be better suited to this role,” said CMQCC Clinical Innovation Advisor Amanda Williams, MD, MPH.
CMQCC collaborates with CDPH, as well as other partners and experts, to develop and maintain updated toolkits, offer implementation guidance, and provide other education for healthcare providers. These resources are developed, based on the clinical and public health quality improvement opportunities identified by CA-PARC, to address the common drivers and failures noted in the reviews.
Dr. Gregory served as a committee member on the first CA-PAMR review and was appointed to Chair SoCAL PAMR in March 2020. She is board-certified in Ob/Gyn and Maternal-Fetal Medicine and maintains an active clinical practice in high-risk obstetrics. At Cedars-Sinai, she is Vice Chair of Women’s Healthcare Quality and Performance Improvement and the Helping Hand Chair in Maternal Fetal Medicine. Dr. Gregory is also a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Fellowship and Division Director for Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Cedars-Sinai. She holds a joint appointment at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and Community Health Sciences.
“It is my honor to be selected as the next chair of the CA-PARC. Each woman and birthing person who died while pregnant or in the post-partum period deserves a thorough and respectful review of what contributed to their death. The members of our committees are thoughtful and diligent with this sensitive review process and want to help prevent others from dying from preventable causes,” said Dr. Gregory.
CA-PARC is a collaboration between CDPH and its contracting partners CMQCC and the Public Health Institute. To learn more about CA-PARC, please visit CDPH’s Maternal Mortality webpage.