State Perinatal Collaboratives

In 2006 the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) was formed.  I am not sure if it was the first, but it was one of the first.  What is a state quality care collaborative?  It is when a group of people gather together to help improve the health of a population.  In the case of my specialty, that would be mothers and newborns.  

In Florida, we have our own quality collaborative, Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative or FPQC.  The FPQC was formed in June 2010 when a meeting was held in Gainesville Florida.  The meeting included the top minds in maternal and neonatal care throughout the state of Florida and FPQC was born.   The vision of the FPQC:

All of Florida’s mothers and infants will have the best health outcomes possible through receiving high quality evidence-based perinatal care.

The mission of the FPQC is to advance perinatal health care quality and patient safety for all of Florida's mothers and infants through the collaboration of all FPQC stakeholders in the development of joint quality improvement initiatives, the advancement of data-driven best practices and the promotion of education and training.  So who are these stakeholders?  They are perinatal health-related practitioners from a  variety of professions and specialties, statewide organizations, individuals, advocates, educators, policymakers, hospitals and payers as well as involved families.  

My hospital has been involved with the FPQC from very early on in the first initiative, Eliminating Early Elective Deliveries.  It was not until I was asked to be a representative to the Hypertension in Pregnancy workgroup for the Florida AWHONN section that I got to really experience what it means to be a part of FPQC.  What was so unique about this experience is how all groups that participated in the development of the Florida Hypertension in Pregnancy tool kit worked together.  They included academic obstetricians, private practice obstetricians, ACOG District XII,  Preeclampsia Foundation, Florida Hospital Association, Healthy Start, March of Dimes, Florida Department of Health, AWHONN Florida Section, Maternal Fetal Medicine physicians, anesthesiologists, Florida Affiliate of American College of Nurse Midwives, Agency for Health Care Administration, and insurance providers.   Everyone was around the same table and worked together to make a plan that would roll out to the entire state of Florida.  We were able to use the CMQCC Hypertension in Pregnancy initiative and adapt it to make it an initiative for the State of Florida because CMQCC willingly shares.   Everyone had a voice.  The initiative has been rolled out to participating hospitals who are now working on incorporating the FPQC Hypertension in Pregnancy toolkit into their own organizations.  What is great is there is support from FPQC all along the way.  First there was a kick off in person meeting where all participating hospitals travel to learn about the initiative.  Participants were able to interact with other hospitals throughout the state.   The next support comes with monthly webinars where topics of interest are discussed and implementation problems are solved.  This is a time to ask questions and get answers from others going through the same thing in their organizations.  FPQC also offers grand rounds that can be held in your own facility.  

The thing is, this happens with ALL of the initiatives!!  The state quality collaboratives are working with the Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care, Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health or AIM, on a national level.  Initiatives are shared.  No one has to work alone.  It is much better when we work together.  Through the initiatives or bundles, we are striving for Readiness on every unit, Recognition/Prevention for every patient, Response for every case, and Reporting or systems learning for every unit.

Here are the initiatives that have been worked on or are in progress by FPQC:  

• Early Elective Delivery
• Neonatal Catheter Infections
• Obstetrical Hemorrhage
• Golden Hour
• Antenatal Steroids
• Hypertension in Pregnancy
• Mother's Own Milk
• Perinatal QI Indicators

What can you do?  Join your state collaborative.  Look at the toolkits available through CMQCC, FPQC, and AIM!  Together, we can work to decrease maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.  We can make a change for the future!

California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative:  https://www.cmqcc.org

Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative:  http://fpqc.org

Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care AIM:  http://www.safehealthcareforeverywoman.org/aim.php