Statewide Maternal Health Collaborative Continues Despite COVID-19

With the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic overwhelming many healthcare teams and limiting travel, the Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative (PA PQC) converted the in-person Learning Collaborative session to a virtual session on March 18. In this new virtual format, the PA PQC was able to successfully engage over 200 attendees with training for their maternal health programs.

The PA Department of Health and Human Services presented updates on the Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) and changes to the Obstetric Needs Assessment Form (ONAF) and the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Notification Form. These forms can now be used to collect data for the PA PQC's NAS and OUD quality measures.

Dr. Mike Posencheg from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia presented quality improvement (QI) tactics, and Dr. Ann Borders for the Illinois PQC presented examples of QI projects in Illinois to improve care for maternal OUD and severe hypertension during pregnancy. In the afternoon, birth hospital and NICU teams from the PA PQC led a series of knowledge cafes on how they implemented key interventions to reduce maternal mortality and improve care for mothers and newborns affected by opioids.

The participants' average satisfaction rating was 4.14 out of 5, and 99% said it helped them identify strategies to work towards the goals of the PA PQC. These results are similar to the feedback from the in-person Learning Collaboratives. Within this new format, materials are also now easier to share. The agenda, materials, and a full recording of the learning session are available here.