Westchester Medical Center Health Network Holds Child Maternal Health Conference November 12

VALHALLA, NY – November, 2025 – Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) a recognized leader and advocate for maternal-child health in New York State, continues to shape the future of perinatal care through education, collaboration, and innovation.

As the lead organization of the 17-member New York State Association of Regional Perinatal Programs (ARPP), which includes many of the nation’s premier perinatal hospitals, WMCHealth is at the forefront of advancing policies and practices that promote healthy outcomes for mothers and infants.

On Wednesday, November 12, 2025, WMCHealth will participate in the 21st Annual Hudson Valley Regional Perinatal Public Health Forum, titled “Artificial Intelligence, Nutrition, and Environmental Impacts on Perinatal Health and Safety.” The event will take place from

8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, N.Y.

The forum will bring together national and regional experts to explore the evolving intersection of technology, ethics, nutrition, and environmental health, and their collective impact on maternal and infant well-being.

Conference Highlights

This year's forum will provide an in-depth look at timely and crucial public health issues. Key focus areas include:

• Bioethics and AI in Medicine and Public Health for Human Flourishing. The opening keynote will be delivered by Constantine 'Kosti' Psimopoulos, MED, MBE, PhD/Dr. Bioethics, Senior Program Director & Faculty at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, and a Visiting Professor in Medicine at the University of Chicago (Fall 2025-2026).
• Nutrition and Support Programs with a session on WIC: Nourishing Futures for Women, Infants, and Children! featuring program directors and coordinators from Westchester and Rockland County Departments of Health and Open Door Care Network. Another session will cover Human Milk and Preterm Neonatal Nutrition presented by Jennifer Kaswick, MD, FAAP, Attending Neonatologist and Associate Medical Director of The Liquid Gold Preemie Donor Milk Bank at Westchester Medical Center.
• Quality Improvement in Perinatal Care with sessions like "Building a Culture of Quality Improvement" by Akiva P. Novetsky, MD MS, Associate Chair for Quality and Safety at Westchester Medical Center , and "Beyond Improvement: Elements of a NICU Quality and Safety Program" led by Munish Gupta, MD MMSc, Director of Quality Improvement at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-Boston.
• Environmental Public Health Concerns, specifically Lead Poisoning: A Persistent Public Health Issue. Leslie E. Liberatore, MSN, FNP-BC, Health Services Coordinator for the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs at Westchester County Department of Health will present on this topic.

The forum will also include a regional outlook on maternal-fetal and newborn health with "The State of the Region in the Context of the State of the Country," presented by Angela Silber, MD, MBA, and Edmund F. La Gamma, MD, FAAP, of Westchester Medical Center and Maria Fareri Children's Hospital.

Target Audience and Education Credits

The conference is designed to educate a wide range of professionals and community members from the seven-county Hudson Valley, NY region (Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster). This includes physicians, nurses, social workers, community organizers, educators, human service providers, community health workers, child care providers, community leaders, businesses, and consumers.

Continuing education credits have been applied for including credits for medical providers, nurses, and lactation consultants.

Registration and Contact

The forum is jointly provided by The Regional Perinatal Center at Westchester Medical Center, Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network, and Maternal Infant Services Network,

Registration is open now. Registration information can be found at the following link: 21st Annual Hudson Valley Regional Perinatal Public Health Conference | Hudsonvalleychrf

For questions about the forum, please contact Christine Janeczko, SPDS and Outreach Specialist, at christine.janeczko@wmchealth.org or Anna Reilly, BSN, RNC-NIC, C-ELBW, C-ONQS, Regional Perinatal Center Coordinator at Anna.Reilly@wmchealth.org

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About Westchester Medical Center Health Network

The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is the pre-eminent provider of integrated health care in New York’s Hudson Valley region, serving nearly 2.5 million residents across more than 6,000 square miles. A 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, including nine hospitals on seven campuses and 60 ambulatory care sites, WMCHealth is home to the region’s only Level I (adult and pediatric) trauma center and the only Academic Medical Center between New York City and Albany. The Network employs more than 13,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians – seeing nearly 300,000 unique patients every year, and is the State’s largest Medicaid provider north of New York City, serving 1 in 3 Medicaid patients in the region. WMCHealth also features Level II and Level III trauma centers, a nationally renowned pediatric hospital that is the region’s only acute care children’s hospital and leading pediatric hospital across the country, the region’s only Level IV NICU, the region’s only Organ Transplant Center, several community hospitals, and dozens of specialized institutes and centers. The Network also includes Comprehensive and Primary Stroke Centers, Burn Center, skilled nursing, and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org or follow WMCHealth on Facebook.com/WMCHealth or Instagram.com/WMCHealth.