The funding from the Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology board will help 17 organizations accelerate the development of technologies, products and services.

The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute is partnering with the Burke Foundation on the effort, which seeks to improve outcomes and reduce racial and ethnic disparities by advancing, expanding and diversifying the practice in the state.

The Garden State saw 19 facilities included on this year's list, which is designed to help families "identify hospitals that excel in delivering babies for uncomplicated pregnancies," according to Min Hee Seo, senior health data scientist at U.S. News.

Using data from the 2,200 facilities that took part in the 2022 Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the list identifies the top 259 nationwide, based on criteria specific to providing maternal services.

Dr. Kajal Angras will manage the new offering, created in partnership with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The health system said it will start recruiting for residency in 2023.

A new report from the organization includes four core priorities and 11 recommendations for "operationalizing" the Nuture NJ strategic plan to deliver higher quality and more equitable health outcomes in the state.

Ten awards of $75,000 each will go toward helping early-stage, innovation-based companies in New Jersey accelerate the development of technologies, products and services that support pregnant women from pre-natal, through birth and post-partum, and into infancy.

The Garden State increased its presence on this year's list, which recognizes the top 250 facilities nationwide.

The Memorandum of Understanding with the Irish Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research comes as the New Jersey Economic Development Authority embarks on efforts to build up a Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center in Trenton.

The board authorized a Memorandum of Understanding with Kean University's The Watson Institute to embark on an iterative community engagement process that builds trust and support from residents and organizational stakeholders for the project, in addition to understanding what services are needed.

The health care system said it delivered a 7% increase over the previous year, in terms of babies born.

The cash donation builds on the Franklin Lakes-based medical technology company's relationship with UNICEF that was established in 1997.