Can You Hear Me? is more than a video series-it is a powerful call to listen and learn . This impactful series is based on the true stories of Black and Brown mothers whose expereincesreveal how communication ,implicit bias, and clinical responses can shape maternal health outcomes.
These stories challenge us to reflect on the critical moments when mothers speak about their symptoms,concerns, and expereinces-and whether they are truly heard.
Our goal is not only to raise awareness but to inspire meaningful change in healthcare practice, strengthen provider-patient communications,and advance equitable ,respectful care for all mothers and families.
Every mother deserves to be heard. Every voice matters. Every story has the power to save lives
The project was spurred by the recently highlighted issue of maternal mortality of women of color. The experience of Serena Williams during her pregnancy , the documentary " Aftershock" and the NYS Maternal Mortality report all spoke to the urgency of this issue. We understood that education must begin in school curriculums for health care personnel , including medical schools, nursing schools, social work schools, etc. It also should be shared in hospital settings to remind staff of how their interactions can impact their patients.. We sought funding for the project from the Health Foundation of Central and Western New York and were granted seed money. With this money, Lisa Rafel interviewed women of color nationally, including several clients from Buffalo Prenatal Perinatal Network, and wrote their stories into monologues to be performed by actresses who could represent these women.. We then hired White, African American and Hispanic actresses to portray the stories with the assistance of the theater communtiy in Buffalo. In July 2025, the actresses were video recorded in a theater in Buffalo with full creative support. The videos were then edited, and we began to share them with both local universities and hospitals. The State University of NY at Buffalo became our first partner and showed them in their med school curriculum in the Spring of 2026. Another university is currently reviewing the content , and we are in discussion with the 2 major health systems in Buffalo to use the vidoes with their staff. The intent is to to share the videos with all NYS hospitals and universities with health care curriculums and then approach these same types of institutions nationally. .The videos have been shown to local community groups, presented at the NYS Perinatal Association Conference in June 2026, and shared by local media. Our challenge has been to get to the right people to preview the videos and receive their endorsement in order to have them integrated into their programs. The hospital administrations were somewhat easier because of the work experience and connections with one of the creators. The University of Buffalo took some time to find the correct person but once they viewed the videos and understood what we were offering, things progressed quickly. We wanted to obtain metrics for how well the videos were addressing communication and bias issues, as a consequence of incorporating the videos into their curriculum.To support our intent ,they added additional class time to encourage thoughful discussions among the students. All hospitals and universities in NYS are required to present content on the topic of impicit bias and many use canned presentations or role playing. In our videos, by using true stories portrayed by actresses, the learning experience was reported to be more interactive and emotional
The first integration of the vidoes included three videos shown to med students during their gyn class session and went very well. Students were quiet during the videos in the way that you want them to be , and then genuinely engaged in small group debriefs.
Outcomes are being measured by two instruments, both built as Microsoft Forms so data capture happens live in the room rather than as a separate assignment.
1. Small group Capture Form: each group's notetaker logs their answers in real time , categorization of harm(Individual act, team failure, system failure), their reasoning on consent versus clinical disagreement, which bystander strategy they chose , and the exact language they would actually use in the room. We want to see whether the students are internalizing the framework rather than just reacting to the stories.
2. Individual Exit slip: at the very end, every stident writes one specific, personal committment, completing the sentence-"One specific thing I will do differently when a patient's concern is not being heard is..." One response from this cohort: "Amplifying the voice of the patient and pushing for them to be heard."
Other comments received by the students in their exit slips:
"I will let my patients speak , and I will listen, and not think for them"
"Listen. Listen and reflect to understand how a complaint might be the difference between life and death."
On scheduling: the session will be repeated 4 times throughout the year at the end of 12 week blocks.