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Dr. Tracey VogelExecutive Director & OB AnesthesiologistDr. Tracey Vogel is an obstetric anesthesiologist in Western Pennsylvania. Her interest in birth trauma and training as a sexual assault counselor seven years ago led her to her current position as Director of Allegheny Health Network’s (AHN) Perinatal Trauma-informed Care Clinic- one of the first in the nation. This unique service offers comprehensive trauma-informed care for all birthing persons with histories of previous trauma including shared-decision making in birth planning, multidisciplinary collaboration and communication, while also building patient trust, and advocating for optimal outcomes for mothers and babies.
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Her hospital based work also includes involvement with quality assurance processes, education and training of physicians, nurses, residents, and students in trauma-informed care principles and prevention of traumatic birth experiences. As a way of further expanding her outreach to more patients and providers, she’s established The Empowerment Equation website as a resource to help women with histories of trauma prepare before delivery, to offer help for providers seeking to understand patient perspectives using first-hand narratives, and to provide evidence-based research on this topic. She has also been a guest on birth advocacy podcasts such as Birth Monopoly, Postpartum Revolution, and Beloved Holistics Radio (formallyOBGynoWino), and “The Confluence” (minutes 7.10 through 17.10) on NPR WESA in Pittsburgh. She has also been featured in several media pieces, including Public Source and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
In an ongoing effort to raise awareness and decrease mental health consequences of traumatic birth experiences she continues to speak nationally and internationally on this topic of birth trauma and trauma-informed care. She is very involved with her national medical organization SOAP (Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology) and leads a Special Interest Group on Maternal Mental Health and Birth Trauma. Additionally, she was appointed in 2021 as a Co-chair of the “Physical and Behavioral Action Team” to Pennsylvania’s HEAL PA Coalition- the governor-appointed task force with a mission of making Pennsylvania a trauma-informed state.
In an ongoing effort to raise awareness and decrease mental health consequences of traumatic birth experiences she continues to speak nationally and internationally on this topic of birth trauma and trauma-informed care. She is very involved with her national medical organization SOAP (Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology) and leads a Special Interest Group on Maternal Mental Health and Birth Trauma. Additionally, she was appointed in 2021 as a Co-chair of the “Physical and Behavioral Action Team” to Pennsylvania’s HEAL PA Coalition- the governor-appointed task force with a mission of making Pennsylvania a trauma-informed state.
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Dr. Sarah HomitskyContributor, Medical DirectorDr. Sarah Homitsky is the owner of Teneral Psychiatry PLLC, a private practice in Wexford, PA specializing in treating women and families. She is also the former medical director of Women’s Behavioral Health at Allegheny Health Network, during which she established the first Perinatal Intensive Outpatient Program in the Pittsburgh area and initiated a partnership with Eden’s Farm to support the mental health of survivors of human trafficking. She is an advocate for trauma-informed care in medical settings and while at Allegheny Health Network, she collaborated with Dr. Tracey Vogel to develop a novel, trauma-informed clinic specializing in supporting survivors of birth trauma and preventing future traumatic births.
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Her clinical expertise is in providing psychiatric services to women across the lifespan, with a focus on perinatal psychiatry. Dr. Homitsky graduated from Michigan State University of Human Medicine and completed her triple board residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and is currently board certified in adult psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry as well as pediatrics.
Over the past five years, Dr. Homitsky has received the Pittsburgh Business Times’ Health Care Hero award, the Carnegie Library’s Community Partner of the Year Award, the Incline’s “Who’s Next in Health” Award, the Women of Achievement Award through Cribs for Kids, the Pittsburgh Psychiatric Society’s Early Career Psychiatrist Award, and was named one of Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors.
Over the past five years, Dr. Homitsky has received the Pittsburgh Business Times’ Health Care Hero award, the Carnegie Library’s Community Partner of the Year Award, the Incline’s “Who’s Next in Health” Award, the Women of Achievement Award through Cribs for Kids, the Pittsburgh Psychiatric Society’s Early Career Psychiatrist Award, and was named one of Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors.
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Holli Krohn LutherWatercolor ArtistHolli Krohn Luther is an independent watercolor artist, interior design consultant, and a Graduate Gemologist. She serves as an assistant to a local artist and is on the advisory board for two up and coming authors. Her passion is facilitating small groups for women in her community, helping them discover that they are masterpieces and that we are all in the process of practicing imperfect progress, not perfection, and that we have permission to learn, grow and change. She finds it a joy and privilege to walk this journey with these women every day. Her watercolor designs for the Empowerment Equation embody this "imperfect progress", yet offer a sentiment of peace and resilience for all women.
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Our Partners
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Birth Monopoly is committed to advancing the human right of each birthing person to determine how, where, and with whom they give birth.
Learn more at birthmonopoly.com |
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Lullaby Project Pittsburgh pairs professional musicians with women and caregivers who have experienced trauma to write personal lullabies for them and their babies.
Learn more at www.lullabypgh.com/ |
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Contact Dr. Vogel here for a consultation or provider training information.
Site by The Empowerment Equation. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2024. |
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