Stamford Hospital’s Maternal-Child Health Units recently earned distinction as a 2014 Gold Prize Recipient of the Connecticut Quality Improvement Award (CQIA). The Units were recognized by the Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership Inc. for its innovative approach to bringing evidence-based care to the bedside, disseminating data and implementing best practices to improve perinatal, maternal and neonatal outcomes.
“The hallmark of our quality improvement efforts is that they are collaborative on both a leadership and clinical level,” said Kathy Livolsi, RN, Director of Clinical Operations in Stamford Hospital’s Maternal-Child Health Units. “Focusing on these quality and safety indicators helps each member of our expert team continually provide the highest standard of care to our patients.”
In 2009, Stamford Hospital’s Maternal-Child Health team formed the Perinatal Quality and Safety Committee to monitor and evaluate several indicators to help create or alter action plans that further improve performance or outcomes. These indicators included monitoring timelines of deliveries, medications used and health condition screening rates among infants. The unit also created a congenital cardiac screening program in 2013 – resulting in 100% of babies screened prior to discharge since implementation. Key to the overall success was the creation of the Perinatal Quality and Safety Coordinator, a role responsible for helping drive improvements in care based on changes in standards of national clinical practice and evidence-based medicine.
Nurses and physicians work together in annual simulation training drills in order to safely and effectively manage emergency situations including shoulder dystocia, post-partum hemorrhage and emergency Cesarean birth. This component of the safety program serves to improve both individual skill development and team performance.
Founded in 1987, the Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership Inc. is the nation’s first state-level quality award. It uses the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Excellence to advance innovative programs that improve quality performance and marketplace competitiveness.
Stamford Hospital integrates a unique collaboration among a woman’s obstetrician, perinatologists, neonatologists, and other specialized physicians to provide advanced, patient-focused maternal-fetal care for women and developing babies involved in high-risk pregnancies. In addition, a full-time genetic counselor is available to help identify families at risk.