Search Results: MCHLine

Annotation: These protocols for emergency medical technicians and hospital personnel in North Carolina provide guidelines for triage, transport, and treatment of children who have suffered traumatic injuries or have life threatening conditions. The protocols are grouped in two sections; the first contains prehospital paramedic protocols; and the second contains hospital treatment protocols. The first section also includes guidelines for transport. The individual protocols are presented as flow-charts with the critical procedures indicated for each step in caring for the child. Conditions include: multiple trauma, head trauma, newborn resuscitation, poisoning, and seizures, among others. [Partially funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]

Keywords: Emergency medical services for children, Emergency medical technicians, Hospital emergency services, Hospital personnel, Injuries, North Carolina, Protocols, Resources for professionals, Therapeutics

Annotation: This report presents 97 recommendations developed by the Maine Maternal, Fetal, and Infant Mortality Review (MFIMR) Panel based on reviews of 22 cases of maternal, fetal and infant deaths occurring from July 2023 through December 2024. The 35-member panel reviewed de-identified case narratives to identify contributing factors and develop recommendations to improve health outcomes across 22 thematic areas including cardiovascular care, care coordination, cultural and linguistic support, emergency services, mental health, substance use, and social determinants of health. Panel members prioritized eight recommendations in the areas of mental health, substance use, and cultural/linguistic support, with an additional cross-cutting recommendation on stigma reduction.

• PDF
• MFIMR Panel Website

Keywords: Fatality review, Infant mortality review, Maine, Maternal mortality, Policy development, Protocols, State initiatives, fetal mortality

Annotation: This fact sheet presents information about the use of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for managing carious lesions. Topics include what SDF is, what it does, and indications for its use; strength of evidence for the use of SDF; whether SDF is approved by the Food and Drug Administration; and contraindications for SDF use. Also discussed are other consideration for the use of SDF, recommended protocols, whether SDF can be used with fluoride varnish, other professionally applied fluorides, and dental sealants; the number of states in which Medicaid reimburses for SDF use, and who can apply SDF.

• PDF

Keywords: Children, Dental caries, Disease management, Older adults, Oral health, Protocols, Regulations, Special health care needs, Therapeutics

Annotation: This workbook serves as a resource for health care providers addressing maternal sepsis recognition and treatment in pregnant and postpartum patients. The workbook presents evidence on maternal sepsis as the body's life-threatening response to infection, noting that between 2017 and 2019, infection was the fourth leading cause of pregnancy-related death in the United States, with Black women having more than twice the risk of maternal sepsis compared to white women. Included are key challenges in maternal sepsis recognition and recommended procedural approaches. The workbook details the complete Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Sepsis in Obstetric Care Patient Safety Bundle components, covering readiness requirements including multidisciplinary team protocols and rapid response procedures, recognition and prevention measures such as evidence-based sepsis screening tools and infection prevention protocols, response protocols emphasizing early antibiotic administration within one hour and source control measures, and reporting and systems learning processes including multidisciplinary case reviews and bias consideration. The workbook addresses Missouri-specific data showing infections as the fifth leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths from 2018-2020, with sepsis as the fourth leading indicator for severe maternal morbidity and significant racial disparities noted, and includes extensive resources for sepsis evaluation flow charts, screening tools, simulation training scenarios, order sets, and patient education materials.

• PDF

Keywords: Emergency health services, Guidelines, Infectious complications complications, Missouri, Protocols, Resources for professionals, Sepsis, State initiatives

Annotation: This patient safety bundle was revised in 2023 to incorporate respectful care concepts, revise existing elements, include new elements related to evidence-informed practices, and update data collection plans. The bundle provides actionable steps to support labor and care processes that can be adapted to a variety of facilities and resource levels to improve quality of care and safely reduce cesarean births. Implementation details and resources, a data collection plan, an evidence-informed "change package," and learning modules are included on the website. Some materials are available in English, Spanish, and French.

• Link
• Printable Patient Safety Bundle

Keywords: Cesarean section, Childbirth, Data collection, Measures, Obstetrical care, Prevention, Protocols, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals, Safety, Vaginal birth

Annotation: This patient safety bundle provides actionable steps that can be adapted to a variety of health care facilities and resource levels to improve the quality of care and outcomes for patients with perinatal mental health conditions. It provides broad direction for incorporating perinatal mood and anxiety disorder screening, intervention, referral, and follow-up into maternity care practice across health care settings. Components include implementation details and resources, a data collection plan, an evidence-informed "change package," and learning modules.

• Link

Keywords: Data collection, Evidence-based medicine, Health care quality indicators, Health metrics, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Measures, Mental health, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Prevention, Protocols, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals, Safety

Annotation: This toolkit provides guidance to hospitals and obstetric providers in developing individualized policies, protocols, practices, and materials related to hospital-facilitated postpartum care and education for pregnant and postpartum women with emphasis on high-risk women. The document presents evidence-based strategies to improve maternal health outcomes through hospital-facilitated continuum of postpartum care by coordinating and providing respectful, timely, and risk-appropriate coordinated care and services. It addresses the development of standardized approaches to promote recommended screening, prevention, treatment, and education services through a multidisciplinary team approach that includes administration, nursing, obstetric providers, neonatology, social work/case managers, community providers, and emergency department staff. The toolkit is organized by three key drivers: screening and arranging early postpartum visits, comprehensive patient education, and clinician engagement and education, with each section providing links to resources that hospitals can adapt for local use.

• Link

Keywords: Florida, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Protocols, Quality Improvement: Policy development, Resources for professionals, Standards, State initiatives

Annotation: The Postpartum Discharge Patient Safety Bundle was revised in 2021 to incorporate respectful concepts and data collection tools. The bundle provides actionable steps that can be adapted to a variety of facilities and resource levels to improve quality of care and outcomes during a critical period in which patients are at risk for maternal morbidity and mortality. It emphasizes the importance of establishing systems for scheduling timely postpartum visits, screening for risk factors, providing standardized discharge education about warning signs including mental health concerns, and ensuring patients receive a comprehensive discharge summary. It also highlights the importance of coordinated clinical pathways between inpatient and outpatient settings, trauma-informed care, and addressing biases that affect quality of care. Bundle components include implementation details and resources, a data collection plan, an evidence-informed "change package," and learning modules.

• Link

Keywords: Data collection, Evidence-based medicine, Health care quality indicators, Health metrics, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Measures, Postpartum care, Prevention, Protocols, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals, Safety, Standards

Annotation: These guidelines for dental hygienists provide information on returning to work during the COVI -19 pandemic. Topics include COVID-19 testing before opening a dental office, work environment, patient preparation, special considerations for providing dental hygiene care, personal protective equipment (PPE), donning and doffing PPE, and disinfection. For each section, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance is included. A COVID-19 patient screening questionnaire and a dental hygienist readiness to return to work questionnaire are also included.

• PDF

Keywords: COVID-19, Dental hygiene, Disease transmission, Infectious diseases, Oral health, Protocols, Safety, Virus diseases

Annotation: This framework provides health care systems with information about delivering health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides key considerations for health care delivery, including care for dental emergencies, with links to additional information. A table that lays out a system for delivering health care by potential for patient harm and degree of community transmission, including examples, is provided.

• Link

Keywords: COVID-19, Disease transmission, Health care delivery, Infectious diseases, Oral health, Protocols, Safety, Virus diseases

Annotation: This guidance discusses infection prevention and control for oral health settings during the COVID19 pandemic. Topics include patient management, facility considerations, equipment considerations, administrative control and work practices, and engineering controls. Additional topics include hygiene, universal source controls, using personal protective equipment, sterilizing and disinfection, considerations for additional precautions or strategies for treating patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, considerations for use of test-based strategies to inform patient care, monitoring and managing staff, and education and training.

• Link

Keywords: COVID-19, Disease transmission, Health care delivery, Infectious diseases, Oral health, Protocols, Safety, Virus diseases

Annotation: These recommendations discuss health services that can be deferred, such as non-emergent, elective, and preventive health services for patients, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following considerations for providing care are offered: ability to implement telehealth, virtual check-ins, and/or remote monitoring; personal protective equipment availability; staffing availability; medical office/ambulatory service location capacity; community testing capability; health and age of each individual and their risk for severe disease resulting from COVID-19 infection; and urgency of treatment or service.

• PDF

Keywords: COVID-19, Disease transmission, Health care delivery, Infectious diseases, Oral health, Protocols, Safety, Virus diseases, telehealth

Annotation: This guidance for dental office staff is intended to help prevent COVID-19 transmission. It addresses the following topics: elimination, engineering controls, administrative controls, safe work practices, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Flexibility related to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) PPE requirements and prioritization of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed, along with differences between OSHA prevention guidance and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.

• Link

Keywords: COVID-19, Disease transmission, Health care delivery, Infectious diseases, Oral health, Protocols, Safety, Virus diseases

Annotation: This brief provides information on using silver diamine fluoride (SDF) to arrest tooth decay. Background information on SDF is presented, and the following topics are discussed: indications for use, clinical application and safety, protecting patients, effects of SDF on existing restorations, restorative properties of SDF and therapeutic risks associated with it, the clinical protocol for SDF application, frequency of application, coding for reimbursement, and status of SDF as a covered service.

• PDF

Keywords: Dental caries, Oral health, Prevention, Protocols, Reimbursement, Safety, Silver diamine fluoride, Treatment

Annotation: This article for family physicians provides a clinical approach to managing the postpartum period, or fourth trimester, for women and their families. It describes the diagnosis and treatment of medical complications such as secondary postpartum hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, and thromboembolic disease. The document also addresses screenings for postpartum depression and intimate partner violence, along with guidance for common concerns including breastfeeding, urinary incontinence, and contraception. Substantial recommendations are included for the timing of clinical evaluations, emphasizing the initiation of care within three weeks of delivery and the completion of a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment within 12 weeks

• Link
• Link

Keywords: Postpartum care, Protocols, Resource for professionals

Annotation: This reference manual provides information about operating a dental public health program in Virginia. Topics include patient care, community program operations, dental sealant program operations, professional development, and resources. Contents include agreements, guidelines, plans, procedures, protocols, standards, surveys, trainings, and videos. Some resources are available in English and Spanish.

• Link

Keywords: Administrative policy, Dental clinics, Manuals, Oral health, Program descriptions, Protocols, Public health dentistry, Resources for professionals, Spanish language materials, Virginia

Annotation: This guide is designed to assist school officials in understanding how human trafficking impacts schools; recognizing the indicators of possible child trafficking; and developing policies, protocols, and partnerships to address and prevent the exploitation of children. Topics include child sex trafficking, child labor trafficking, deconstructing perceptions and a victim-centered approach, risk factors and predictors, what to do about suspected trafficking, recruitment, impact on learning environment, and community involvement. The guide contains a sample protocol for school districts and describes U.S. government entities combating human trafficking, publications and resources, training, services, and terms and definitions.

• Link

Keywords: Child labor, Child sexual abuse, Community action, Learning, Policy development, Protective factors, Protocols, Public private partnerships, Resources for professionals, Risk factors, School age children, Schools, Training

Annotation: These guidelines are designed to assist school administrators and others in protecting and improving indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools during building upgrades, particularly energy efficiency upgrades and building renovation activities. Contents include fundamental principles of IAQ, the business case for integrating energy efficiency and IAQ, and assessment protocols and recommended actions. Topics include project planning and integrated design; moisture and mold; hazardous materials; indoor and outdoor contaminants and sources; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; and safety. The appendices contain information about project planning and developing a project team, communication and education, and worker protection. A master verification checklist is also included.

• Link

Keywords: Air pollution, Assessment, Environmental exposure, Facility design and construction, Planning, Protocols, Safety, School age children, Schools

Annotation: This screening protocol for primary care providers discusses mental health screening options and available tools, administration of the screening tool and how it is presented, evaluated, and addressed with the patient; how to respond to a positive screen; and where to refer patients who need additional treatment, support, or services.

• PDF

Keywords: Mental health, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Primary care, Protocols, Referrals, Screening

Annotation: This manual is designed to help school districts improve the health services they provide to students. Contents include a school-health-services assessment tool; injury and illness protocols; sample policies and procedures for emergency nursing services, concussion management, managing and preventing acute reactions to foods in the school setting, and medication administration; and nurse procedures. The manual also contains instructions for unlicensed assistive personnel on hand hygiene, oral care, feeding, transfers, and diapering for students who need such care at school.

• School Nurse Procedure Manual (mobile Website)
• WISHeS Project Resources

Keywords: Assessment, Disease management, Disease prevention, Mobile applications, Nursing services, Oral health, Patient care management, Patient care planning, Protocols, School based management, School districts, School health services, School nurses, School personnel, Special health care needs, Training