Through the use of "care bundles," which are groups of evidence-based interventions that are more effective when implemented together rather than individually, participants work towards the reduction of perinatal injuries.

"Many of the processes addressed in this project can lead to significant, lifelong injury to newborns, along with immense emotional trauma to families and healthcare team members," said Susan DeVore, chief operating officer at Premier. "Consistent, reliable delivery of the care bundles has proven to decrease the incidence of these injuries. They follow published best practices and national standards established by expert clinical organizations and are audited by participants to ensure implementation in an 'all-or-none' fashion, unless a medical condition suggests otherwise."


Project participants will work together to enhance sharing of information and best practices, all the while documenting cost and quality impact consistently and reliably to assess opportunities for improvement. Initiative results and feedback will be offered in a transparent manner so outcomes can be shared nationwide to help transform healthcare.

"This collaborative provides hospitals a unique opportunity to track their success using evidence-based interventions to reduce harm to infants and mothers," said Hal C. Lawrence, III, MD, FACOG, vice president of Practice Activities for The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). "We are hopeful that all hospitals will evaluate best practice parameters and incorporate innovative tools that help lead to better outcomes. Improvements in ob-gyn care have reduced the maternal death rate by more than 95 percent and the neonatal death rate by more than 66 percent over the last 50 years.

"ACOG has a long history of advancing the highest quality care for our patients, and this emphasis is being driven further by ACOG President Douglas H. Kirkpatrick, who has made patient safety the priority of his presidential year," continued Lawrence. "Our organization is proud to build on our longtime commitment to patient safety by participating on the Perinatal Safety Initiative Advisory Committee and we look forward to providing guidance and input on this important issue."

Perinatal team members at participating hospitals will conduct simulations for certain high risk protocols so that they are prepared to take appropriate action during worst case scenarios. Data from participants will be collected and results measured against benchmarks from similar hospitals. Customized harm measures were developed, and will be analyzed through the assistance of the National Perinatal Information Center. Expertise in team building, simulations and data analysis will be provided to the group by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

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