A special focus on quality of care and safety is improving outcomes for pregnant women and new moms.
It’s a sobering statistic: Nearly half of maternal deaths and up to 40 percent of severe complications are preventable, according to a study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. To help improve health care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) commemorated the second annual Maternal Health Awareness Day on January 23. MMC hosted a panel discussion and Grand Rounds, a meeting at which physicians share clinical expertise and experiences.
The New Jersey Commissioner of Health, Shereef M. Elnahal, MD, MBA, attended the event. “It’s a collective accountability that we have as a state to prioritize this as a public health issue and to reward hospitals such as Monmouth that have made a concerted effort to improve these outcomes,” he said during the panel discussion.
Focusing on best practices
To improve the quality and safety of maternal health care, RWJBarnabas Health (RWJBH) formed an Obstetric Collaborative Group in 2015, and MMC is a member. “We use a multidisciplinary leadership approach to focus on best practices and clinical outcomes,” says Suzanne Spernal, DNP, APN-BC, RNCOB, CBC, Vice President of Women’s Services, RWJBarnabas Health.
“Monmouth Medical Center is recognized by the state for its quality outcomes. We have one of the lowest C-section rates among low-risk, first-time mothers in New Jersey.” In December 2018, the Obstetric Collaborative teamed up with the Emergency Department (ED) to identify and treat postpartum complications as quickly as possible. “We know the majority of adverse maternal events occur in the first 42 days postpartum,” says Spernal. If a patient has had a baby in the last 42 days in an RWJBH hospital, an alert will fire in her medical record.
If there is no alert, Emergency Department clinicians must ask, “Have you had a baby in the past 42 days?” The goal is to decrease the risk of maternal mortality and morbidity. “The OB/ED partnership ensures that the right questions are asked of patients fr om the time they enter the emergency room,” says Robert A. Graebe, MD, Chairman and Program Director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chief of Reproductive Endocrinology at MMC, and a member of the Barnabas Health Medical Group.
In addition, MMC is using posters, social media posts and fliers to educate patients and clinicians about the “Stop! Look! and Listen!” maternal safety initiative, which encourages women to mention to their health care providers any unusual symptoms while they are pregnant and after delivery. “Our team is committed to improving outcomes for women and their families,” says Spernal.
Learn more about maternal health services at Monmouth Medical Center.