The 2025 NYSPA Conference was a great success!
Last Friday was the close of the 2025 NYSPA Conference. Our Conference Committee and Board of Directors would like to thank everyone who attended, our sponsors and exhibitors, the poster presenters, the Hilton Hotel staff and most of all our speakers who were outstanding! We had a record attendance of 283 registering with about 265 in attendance. In addition to the amazing sessions, so many attendees commented on the great resources available from our exhibitors and the opportunities to network with friends and colleagues from across the state and to make new connections. We'll be posting more details and pictures on the Annual Conference page by 7/1/25.
With the passing of our dear colleague and friend, Joy Henderson in April of this year, we dedicated the conference in her name and memory. In addition to her many responsibilities at New York Presbyterian Hospitals, Joy dedicated much time to NYSPA as a Board member for more than 10 years— a member of many annual conference planning committees, and from 2017-2019, she provided leadership for NYSPA as President of the Board of Directors. Joy was an unwavering advocate for maternal and neonatal care. Her passion for education extended beyond the classroom, as she frequently presented research nationally and internationally, addressing disparities in neonatal care and maternal health outcomes for Black and Latino populations.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is recognized as NYSPA's 2025 Maternal-Infant Health Advocate
NYSPA is very proud to recognize Senator Gillibrand as our 2025 Maternal Child Health Advocate!
During Senator Gillibrand’s tenure as a United States Senator from New York, she has been a strong advocate for women’s health care. She supported the expansion of Medicaid coverage for postpartum care to 12 months as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and supported making the expansion permanent in 2023 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. With approximately 20% of maternal deaths in NYS due to substance overdose or a mental health diagnosis; Senator Gillibrand sponsored the “Into the Light for Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Act” and fought to Include this legislation in the FY2023 Appropriations Bill. The legislation established funds for a National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. Senator Gillibrand has supported the Black Maternal Health Omnibus Act and Moms Matter Act to provide funds for developing best safety practices, provide resources to hospitals to improve safety, and decrease maternal disparities for birthing people.
As part of the Armed Services Committee, Senator Gillibrand sponsored the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act that was signed into law in 2022. This law takes the complaints of sexual harassment or sexual abuse out of the chain of military command and into the jurisdiction of independent trained military oversite. Most recent statistics from 2023 show a decrease of 18% in sexual assault/harassment complaints from women in the military.
Recently Senator Gillibrand has proposed legislation to strengthen and expand federal research for menopause care and health care work force training with the Advancing Menopause and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act. She has also been a
proponent of paid family leave for parents of newborn children.
New Yorkers can count on Senator Gillibrand to support and advocate for women’s health care and fairness in the workplace. As we continue to be challenged by reductions in funding and questions about the importance of quality systems and services; and support for the clinical and community providers who work tirelessly to ensure all pregnant individuals have access to care and support; NYSPA expresses great appreciation and admiration for Senator
Gillibrand for her dedication to perinatal health. Thank you Senator Gillibrand for all you do!
2025 L Stanley James Award Recipient: Darcy Dreyer, March of Dimes Director of Maternal & Child Health Initiatives
The NYSPA Board of Directors is pleased to recognize Darcy Dryer for her work throughout upstate NY and with NYSPA. Darcy is and has been a strong advocate for maternal health innovation including group prenatal care, encouragement of full-term inductions, and low dose aspirin protocols. She is widely respected, and her thoughtful approach encourages key players to come to the table. She exemplifies the attributes of L. Stanley James, particularly her ability and willingness to see projects through to completion.
Darcy has been an essential participant in perinatal issues throughout Western & Central New York. She has helped lead maternal coalitions in both Buffalo and Niagara Falls to encourage collaboration between maternal providers including education, advocacy, joint grant funding and collaboration. She maintains a high level of continuous learning and her insightful perspectives on creative methods to improve maternal health reflect current evidence-based standards.
Darcy has worked to help design innovative programming that addresses the root causes of poor maternal infant health outcomes. Examples include advising on a project to address secondary trauma and burnout of employees from health systems and nonprofit agencies; and helping design a trauma-informed program to help reduce turnover and improve patient experiences. She places a high value on quality and has engaged with numerous learning collaboratives to share best practices in these designs while also seeking to learn more effective practices from her peers. She then works to share these learnings with coalition partners in order to promote their application in local programming.
Darcy is a trusted thought leader in the area of maternal Infant health and sought after for her insights and ability to connect to others. As such, she is often asked to speak to groups and has done so both locally and nationally because of her experience and knowledge base. With her attention to data, she has advocated for communities to identify inequities rooted in systemic racism and worked with
United Way in Buffalo to co-lead a Racial Equity Impact Analysis Collaborative of maternal infant health coalition partners to facilitate equitable policy changes in their respective institutions.
Darcy joined the NYSPA Board several years ago and has assumed the role of Chair of the Advocacy Committee which has been a perfect outlet for her passion to educate and influence. We are indebted to Darcy for her commitment to maternal and infant health and for being a tireless advocate for perinatal health.