Doula Learning and Action Collaborative teams meet in Nevada

The Institute for Medicaid Innovation (IMI) marked a significant milestone in the Doula Learning and Action Collaborative with its first in-person convening in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event, held on June 26-27, brought together teams from Alabama, California, Nevada, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas, and the District of Columbia to advance their collective efforts to improve access to doula services in Medicaid.

This convening served as pivotal moment to reflect on the first year of the collaboratives’ work while laying the groundwork for the year ahead.  After months of foundational virtual meetings, state teams, members of the National Advisory Committee, and select funding partners gathered in person to foster deeper collaboration, share lessons learned thus far, and co-design strategies to drive measurable change.

The two-day event focused on these core objectives:

1. Developing Community Partnership Plans: Teams explored ways to properly center community members’ voices in their efforts. These discussions emphasized the importance of ensuring that these initiatives will both benefit and have a greater impact on their communities.
2. Establishing Actionable Goals: To anchor the teams’ initiatives, participants were tasked with drafting measurable goals that were specific, time-bound and rooted in their collective understanding of the local landscape, the diverse array of community needs, and the most relevant opportunities for systems change.
3. Designing Action Plans: Teams began translating their draft goals into actionable workplans. These roadmaps are designed to evolve alongside community needs, emerging partnerships, ensuring flexibility and responsiveness throughout the implementation period.

The energy and commitment in the room underscored the unique value of in-person connection. In a world where we have transitioned to virtual collaboration, which has expanded access and engagement, the in-person convening created space for spontaneous dialogue and resource-sharing within and across state teams, along with deeper relationship building. Bringing together different stakeholder perspectives from across different state lines with the common goal of advancing access to doula care not only progresses the work and productivity of the people fighting so hard for change, but it also strengthens the community, reminding these contributors that they are not alone in their efforts.

The work is only beginning! Thanks to the support of our generous funders*, the state teams will continue to refine and implement their action plans, with ongoing technical assistance from IMI project staff and members of the National Advisory Committee over the course of the next two years. We look forward to sharing updates through future releases as this collaborative continues to drive systemic change and expand access to culturally-responsive doula care for Medicaid enrollees across the country.

*Klingenstein Philanthropies, Pritzker Children’s Initiative, Ford Family Foundation, PacificSource Foundation for Family Health, Oregon Community Foundation, Cambia Health Foundation, Community Health Acceleration Partnership, California Health Care Foundation, and Care Oregon.