The newest member of Health Quality Innovators’ (HQI) Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) is Marianne Drexler, an Undergraduate Medical Education Clerkship Coordinator in the Department of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine who is also a maternal health advocate.

Marianne’s drive to be an advocate stems from personal experience, which led her to examine what could be improved in maternal health. She researched the topic, sought out support groups and created her own support group on Facebook, Maternal Near-Miss Survivors, which has nearly 1,400 members.

According to the group’s description, a maternal near-miss is “an event where a woman nearly dies due to pregnancy or childbirth-related complications. The events are often unexpected and may leave the survivor feeling isolated and alone. This is a safe place where survivors find comfort and offer support as we journey toward healing together.”

“I want to make sure that patient voices are being represented,” Marianne said. “We’re not going to make positive changes if we are not talking with people who are impacted.”

She hopes her perspective not only represents maternal advocacy on HQI’s PFAC but the entire patient experience, whether from a patient or caregiver viewpoint. Through her role at Duke, she has witnessed changes in the quality improvement process where education is provided.

“I enjoy seeing the process of how people are trained and how that leads to a change for a better national health system,” she said. “There is an evolution to process change and it takes a while for that shift to take place, but the way people are being educated is already different than in the past.”

As a PFAC member, Marianne looks forward to contributing to change that impacts healthcare and will filter down to improve population health.

“It’s important to me to be in a community of like-minded people, knowing that your voice is being heard and considered in healthcare quality improvement,” she said.