Search Results: MCHLine

Annotation: This resource provides information on the importance of breastfeeding and the role of hospitals in breastfeeding success. It describes a program to encourage adoption of five evidence based maternity care practices that have been found to increase breastfeeding rates. Contents include current breastfeeding rates in Kansas, participating hospitals, endorsements, a hospital application agreement and form, and program logos and branding materials.

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Keywords: Breastfeeding, Evidence based medicine, Health promotion, Hospital accreditation, Infant health, Kansas, Maternal health, Model programs, State programs

Annotation: This report explains how hospitals and maternity facilities can implement the core measure on exclusive breast milk feeding which is one of the Perinatal Care core measures that replaced The Joint Commission's Pregnancy and Related Conditions core measures set beginning in April 2010. The report provides guidelines to help health professionals achieve compliance with the new measure by collecting data that supports exclusive breast milk feeding, defined by The Joint Commission as "a newborn receiving only breast milk and no other liquids or solids except for drops or syrups." It explains how compliance may require facilities to modify their paper charts and/or electronic medical records and includes examples from exemplary hospitals that already collect data on exclusive breast milk feeding.

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Keywords: Breastfeeding, Data collection, Guidelines, Hospital accreditation, Measures, Standards

Annotation: The Joint Commission offers the Maternal Levels of Care Verification program in collaboration with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to help facilities providing obstetric and maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) care standardize and improve regionalized systems of care, with the ultimate goal of reducing maternal morbidity and mortality. Developed using ACOG’s Levels of Maternal Care Obstetric Care Consensus document, this program provides an objective assessment of a facility's capabilities to verify it has the appropriate resources, equipment, and staff to care for the complexity of its patients, requiring hospitals to submit a detailed process improvement plan. The verification assesses facilities against four standardized levels of care: (1) Level I: Basic Care for low to moderate-risk pregnancies; (2) Level II: Specialty Care for moderate- to high-risk antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum conditions; (3) Level III: Subspecialty Care for more complex maternal medical conditions, obstetric complications, and fetal conditions; and (4) Level IV: Regional Perinatal Health Care Centers which provide on-site medical and surgical care for the most complex maternal conditions and critically ill pregnant women. The program promotes collaboration among area health care organizations, ensuring hospitals have a plan for assessing risk and referring patients to a higher level of care facility in the event of obstetric emergencies, and is being utilized by several states, including Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, and Texas, to meet state maternal care designation requirements.

Keywords: , Hospital Accreditation, Obstetrical care, Patient safety, Perinatal care, Quality improvement, Risk assessment, Standards