Institute for Healthcare Improvement Invites North Oaks Medical Center to Share Best Practices

July 10, 2012 - PRLog -- [HAMMOND, La.]–The North Oaks Medical Center Perinatal Project Team will present best practices in decreasing infant mortality and complication rates in a national webinar sponsored by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Kimberly Woods, Women and Children’s Services Coordinator, will share the team’s keys to success with a national audience on Tuesday, July 10 at 3 p.m. The webinar is free and open to the public. Registration is required and may be completed at http://ihi.webex.com.

"We invited North Oaks to present because of their focus on moving safety and quality to a deeper dimension in their organization," explains Sue Gullo, Director, Institute for Healthcare Improvement. "Rather than stopping when achieving one goal of decreasing elective deliveries, they continue to improve care by focusing on other processes, including the use of high-alert medications used in the Labor & Delivery area. The multidisciplinary team approach at North Oaks is a leading example for many other hospital teams in the IHI Perinatal Community."

North Oaks was recognized by the IHI as the standard bearer for Louisiana, being the first hospital in the state to achieve a ranking of “4 out of 5” for progress in implementing initiatives to decrease infant deaths and complications.  

In August 2011, North Oaks first joined with the IHI, the state Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) and 20 birthing hospitals in the Louisiana Birth Outcomes Project to eliminate elective deliveries at 37-39 weeks gestation. Soon after, DHH recognized North Oaks Medical Center with the “Pioneer Award” for being one of the first facilities in the state to join the project. By December 2011, North Oaks Medical Center successfully reached the goal and is currently approaching 250 days without a single elective, non-medically necessary delivery. Research supports that babies who are carried to the full 40 weeks of gestation are healthier and have fewer health risks.

“We are proud to be a leader in this important endeavor and honored to be selected as a presenter for this national collaborative,” comments Tammy Murphy, North Oaks Vice President of Performance Management. “It is a true testament to the incredible effort  of our Perinatal Project Team and commitment to best practices in the care of mothers and babies.”

Members of the North Oaks Medical Center Perinatal Project Team are: Kirsten Constantino, Team Leader and Women & Children’s Services Director; Pediatrician and Physician Champion Elizabeth Fritz, MD; OB/GYNs and Physician Champions Jeremy Erwin, MD, and Dwan Mabry, MD; Labor & Delivery Staff RNs Laurie Glascock and Mary Pereira; Senior Vice President/Chief Medical Officer Robert Peltier, MD; Jackie Robertson, NICU Computer Billing Analyst; and Kimberly Woods, Women & Children’s Services Coordinator. Jan Takewell, Performance Management Director, is the Team Facilitator.

For more information on the webinar or the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, please visit http://www.ihi.org.