Mountain View, Calif. – El Camino Health is bringing together leading maternal mental health experts and advocates to share strategies and solutions to advance treatment, enhance access to care, and reduce stigma around the mental health of pregnant and postpartum women in the United States. The 6th Annual El Camino Health Maternal Mental Health Symposium will be hosted by the Scrivner Center for Mental Health & Addiction Services on Friday, September 29, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PDT.
"We have been facing a maternal mental health crisis in the United States for far too long," said Nirmaljit Dhami, MD, medical director of the inpatient perinatal psychiatry unit at the Scrivner Center for Mental Health & Addiction Services at El Camino Health. "As many as 20 percent of women experience prenatal or postpartum depression and anxiety, yet few receive appropriate care, which is why mental health struggles are the leading cause of maternal mortality. The urgent need to change that reality is the driving force behind the Maternal Mental Health Symposium."
Presentations will cover federal health policy, perinatal loss and grief, the importance of mental health of fathers, improving the lives of postpartum women, and more. In addition to sessions led by El Camino Health experts, presenters will include peers from the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, Columbia University, Northwestern Medicine, and the University of Toronto.
"While El Camino Health is world renowned for our maternal mental health program and home to one of only three inpatient perinatal psychiatry units in the country, we're joining forces with other leading maternal mental health experts to ensure this event is as impactful as possible," Dr. Dhami said.
The Maternal Mental Health Symposium is designed for healthcare professionals, mental health providers, physicians, community-based organizations, peers, advocates, policy leaders, and administrators. Currently, the nearly 1,400 registered participants are represented from more than 40 states in the U.S. and more than 30 countries around the globe.
Registration is required for the virtual event. It is free to attend thanks to a donation from the Keller family and support from the El Camino Health Foundation. For more information and to register, click here.
About El Camino Health
El Camino Health has served the communities of Santa Clara County for more than 60 years, with nationally recognized physicians and nurses at two not-for-profit acute care hospitals in Los Gatos and Mountain View, and primary care, multi-specialty care, and urgent care locations across the region. El Camino Health is dedicated to giving patients high-quality care utilizing the most advanced technology and research, delivering results first and respect always.
Aside from achieving outstanding patient outcomes, the hospitals have earned numerous awards for clinical excellence, including being named one of the World's Best Hospitals 2023 by Newsweek and becoming the San Francisco Bay Area's first Magnet hospital, earning four consecutive designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center for nursing excellence.
Key service lines include cancer care, cardiovascular care, maternity care, mental health and addiction services, orthopedics, pulmonology, urology, and women's health. Visit elcaminohealth.org to learn more.
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