Faisa Farole is laying down the foundation for more minority-owned healthcare businesses to open in Seattle.
According to the Seattle Times, the licensed midwife recently made history when she hosted the grand opening of Federal Way Birth Center, the first licensed Black-owned “free-standing health facility” for women in the state of Washington. The new brick-and-mortar location is 3,000 square feet and houses three full-birth suites with beds, tubs and bathrooms in addition to some exam rooms, teaching areas and an office.
“It’s historic, but it’s also sad there haven’t been any others in the past, considering Black and brown women’s status in this maternal health crisis,” Farole told the Seattle Times.
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This center is one more thing the entrepreneur has added to her list of accomplishments as she’s also founded a practice and independent doula nonprofit called Global Perinatal Services. The entrepreneur hopes to use her 20 years of expertise to help enhance birthing experiences for women, especially in the Black and brown communities, as her vision has always been to improve “health outcomes and reduce birth complication rates.”
“Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States — 69.9 per 100,000 live births for 2021, almost three times the rate for white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” the Associated Press reported.
Furthermore, the maternal death rates of Black and American Indian/Alaska Native women in Washington are higher and even reached record-breaking numbers from 2018 to 2020 per a report shared by the Seattle Times. This influenced local government members to suggest programs that offer medical training for doulas, doctors, nurses, midwives and other industry professionals to provide more resources in underprivileged areas, especially following the pandemic when more women gave birth in their homes due to hospital beds filled with Covid-19 patients, according to Farole.
The philanthropist is waiting to receive additional permits from the state Department of Health but aims to start delivering babies at Federal Way Birth Center in the first quarter of 2024. Despite birthing facilities not having every medical device a hospital typically has, Farole shared that birthing centers carry oxygen, IVs and some medicines and antibiotics just in case. In the meantime, she is offering prenatal and postpartum services to patients.
“This is just a drop in the bucket,” Farole said. “I have a lot of plans for the center.”
