People

Naomi Delkamiller ney-oh-mee del-kah-mil-ler

(she/her/hers)

Buffett Foundation Fellow

Naomi Delkamiller is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, double majoring in journalism and advertising and public relations with a minor in digital humanities. She has worked for Dundee Digital as a video production intern, HuskerVision as a camera operator and is a university research assistant studying visual data structures as they relate to journalism. You can find her published in the Global Oneness Project, the Fine Lines Omaha Journal, the Reader Omaha and on the School of the New York Times Academy Medium.

Esther Patterson is with BirthNet, an organization that works to eliminate health inequities for pregnant people. At a rally on June 20, 2023, Patterson called the proposed closure of Burdett Birth Center “a slap in the face to all of our Black and brown birthing families and all of the families that live in rural communities.” (Photo by Morgan Casey/News21)

Birth center closure could stress health care in area dominated by Catholic hospitals

Hospitals have been cutting maternity services and closing doors across the country for decades, creating health care deserts. The family-planning policies in Catholic hospitals exacerbate service gaps.

Ellis Hospital – the only inpatient hospital in all of Schenectady County – would have to abide by ethical and religious directives that prohibit abortions and other care should a merger with St. Peter’s Health Partners become final. (Photo by Morgan Casey/News21)

Catholic hospital mergers threaten access to reproductive care – even in abortion ‘safe havens’

Mergers between Catholic and secular health systems are limiting access to reproductive health care – even in states considered abortion safe havens.