For Immediate Release: Oct. 22, 2015
Contact:
Susie Wallace, Director of Communications
Oklahoma Hospital Association
(405) 427-9537
Tony Sellars, Director of Communications
Oklahoma State Health Department
(405) 271-5601 x56402
Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative Recognizes Efforts to Improve Outcomes for Oklahoma Mothers and Babies
Eleven Oklahoma hospitals recently received awards for providing excellence in perinatal care from the Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative. The awards were presented at the second annual summit of the collaborative in Oklahoma City. Approximately 200 providers of maternal and infant care came together at the event to discuss continued efforts to improve outcomes for Oklahoma mothers and babies, and to celebrate success from their ongoing work.
Hospitals receiving the “Spotlight Hospital Awards” were recognized for participation and sustained improvement in the areas of early elective deliveries (inducing labor and scheduling cesarean births before 39 weeks without a medical reason), education to prevent abusive head trauma (commonly known as shaken baby syndrome), modeling and promoting safe sleep practices, participation in a new improving maternal outcomes project, and supporting women in breastfeeding.
Receiving hospital “Spotlight” awards were:
Chickasaw Nation Medical Center, Ada
Comanche County Memorial Hospital, Lawton
Hillcrest Medical Center, Tulsa
INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, Oklahoma City
INTEGRIS Bass Baptist Medical Center, Enid
INTEGRIS Health Edmond
Saint Francis Hospital, Tulsa
Saint Francis Hospital South, Tulsa
Stillwater Medical Center
The Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center, Oklahoma City
OU Medical Center Edmond
In addition, Mary Anne McAffree, MD, neonatologist at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City , received the Warren M. Crosby Champion for Maternal and Infant Health Award for going above and beyond to display exemplary effort to improve outcomes for mothers and babies in the local community and statewide.
Terry Cline, PhD, commissioner of health and secretary of health and human services, commended the group for excellent work in infant mortality reduction programs and encouraged them to continue their efforts to improve the health of mothers and babies in Oklahoma. Event participants were encouraged to carry on this important work by implementing strategies that are proven to affect outcomes positively within their own practices as well as contributing to the statewide efforts.
Chad Smith, MD, medical director of the Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative, congratulated the hospitals saying, “Your efforts have made a significant contribution to improving the safety of care for mothers and infants in Oklahoma. As we continue this work together, we look forward to ensuring Oklahoma families receive safe, quality care no matter where they give birth.”
Partners in the Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative include: March of Dimes, Oklahoma City-County Health Department, Tulsa Health Department, Oklahoma Health Care Authority, Oklahoma Hospital Association, Oklahoma State Department of Health and County Health Departments, and University of Oklahoma Departments of OB/GYN and Pediatrics.
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The Oklahoma Hospital Association represents more than 135 hospitals and health care entities across the state of Oklahoma. OHA’s primary objective is to promote the welfare of the public by leading and assisting its members in the provision of better health care and services for all people. For more information, go to .
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org. Find us on Facebookand follow us on Twitter.
The Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative (OPQIC) launched in 2014 with a mission to provide leadership and engage interested stakeholders in a collaborative effort to improve the health outcomes for Oklahoma women and infants using evidence-based practice guidelines and quality improvement processes. OPQIC works with Oklahoma birthing hospitals and perinatal care providers of all types to improve perinatal care of Oklahoma mothers and newborns by collaborating with partners to identify and remove barriers to providing safe, quality perinatal care. The Office of Perinatal Quality Improvement at OUHSC administers the activities of OPQIC. Visit opqic.org for more information.
The Office of Perinatal Quality Improvement at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, has worked with Oklahoma birthing hospitals for 31 years to improve maternal and infant care for Oklahoma families by providing education, maximizing resources and collaborating with partners to identify and remove barriers to providing safe, quality perinatal care.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health’s “Preparing for a Lifetime, It’s Everyone’s Responsibility” is a statewide initiative to improve birth outcomes and reduce infant deaths in Oklahoma and focuses on seven specific areas: preconception and interconception care (being healthy before and between pregnancies), tobacco use prevention, prematurity, postpartum depression, breastfeeding, infant safe sleep, and infant injury prevention. Using state and community-based level partnerships, strategies include public education, policy change, and support of health care providers and birthing hospitals through training and technical assistance.