BHMB Webinar Series: Core Principles in Action

Transforming Data into Action to Improve Maternal Health

Learn how Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation and Regional One Health in Memphis, Tenn. are collecting and transforming data into strategies that enhance care quality, safety and outcomes for birthing and postpartum experiences.

Key Takeaways

Arizona’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee found that 89% of maternal deaths in the state were preventable, with American Indian and Alaska Native women facing three times the rate of severe complications compared to white women.

Through the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM), hospitals implemented maternal safety bundles — standardized, evidence-based practices that improved hypertension treatment compliance from 6% to 80% of women within a year. These women had two consecutive blood pressures of either 160 for systolic or 110 diastolic and were treated within 60 minutes.

Tuba City Regional Healthcare Corporation achieved 100% on time hypertension treatment by combining rigorous training with patient-centered outreach.

Regional One Health implemented a nurse-driven protocol that empowered nurses to treat severe hypertension immediately. The protocol allows nurses to administer medication to treat those women with two blood pressure measures of either 160 systolic or 110 diastolic within the hour and seek physician guidance when needed. In 2025, the nurses treated 100% hypertension cases within 60 minutes.

Designing Maternal Care to Address Disparities 

Carle Health in Champagne, Ill., and MedStar Health in Washington, D.C., share programs that address disparities and other upstream factors influencing maternal health outcomes.

Key Takeaways

MedStar’s Safe Babies, Safe Moms program provides a comprehensive continuum of care — from pre-pregnancy wellness through a child’s 3rd birthday. The model offers 70 interventions that integrate obstetrics, pediatrics, behavioral health, psychiatry and social services while partnering with local organizations like Community of Hope Federally Qualified Health Center and Georgetown University. The hospital has reduced disparities, maternal morbidity and preterm births through notable innovations including trauma-informed socioeconomic screening, a medical-legal partnership that recovered over $160,000 in benefits, integrated maternal mental health services and remote monitoring for hypertension and diabetes.

Carle Health’s Healthy Beginnings program connects nurses, social workers and early childhood educators to families from early pregnancy through the child’s 2nd birthday. This program centers the family’s voice through embedded long-term home visiting services for at-risk, expectant families, shared governance and continuous feedback loops Since October 2017, the program has enrolled over 1,000 families and 900 babies. Outcomes include early identification and management of clinical and socioeconomic conditions, as well as increases in referrals, child wellness exams and timely immunizations. It achieved 100% prenatal care initiation, 85% postpartum follow-up, 86% breastfeeding initiation and decreased NICU and ED utilization.

Elevating Patient and Community Voices in Maternal Care

Learn how leaders at District of Columbia Hospital Association, Temple Health in Philadelphia, University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., and Mama’s Voices in Washington, D.C., are pursuing patient and community experiences to co-develop innovative solutions, enhance community partnerships and build trusting provider-patient relationships.

Key Takeaways

By listening to patients, District of Columbia Perinatal Quality Collaborative redesigned communication tools, created empathetic post-hemorrhage scripts and improved postpartum follow-up from 9% to 73%.

Temple Health designed its Temple Women’s and Families Hospital entirely around patient feedback. The facility offers services from labor and delivery to menopause care, with behavioral health and WIC services integrated onsite. Innovative tools like the LENA App guide patients through their pregnancy journey, while the MAMA Model pilot uses a team of nurses, social workers and community health workers to address food insecurity and transportation barriers.

Empowering Interdisciplinary Maternal Care Teams

Hartford Healthcare in Hartford Conn., and Jackson County Memorial Hospital in rural Altus, Okla., are leveraging the unique skills and expertise of multiple health care professionals, such as doulas and midwives, and implementing models such as TeamBirth to work efficiently together and improve outcomes.

Key Takeaways

Hartford HealthCare implemented a systemwide Doula Partnership Program to incorporate doulas as valued members of the maternal care team and strengthen patient-centered maternal care.

Key components of the program include establishing a Doula Advisory Board, creating a doula orientation and badging process that enables doulas to access all birthing facilities, and updating hospital policies to clarify doula roles within clinical care settings. Hartford HealthCare also introduced “Coffee Conversations” to educate clinicians about working with doulas, hosted community education events and launched a marketing campaign and video series highlighting doula-friendly campuses. To further integrate doulas into care delivery, the system incorporated doula presence into Epic documentation workflows.

The program has been associated with improved birth experiences and greater emotional support during labor, alongside clinical outcomes such as a 12% increase in vaginal deliveries and reductions in cesarean births, NICU admissions, use of Pitocin, pain medication use and birth trauma. Staff surveys showed familiarity with doula policies increased from 28.8% to 61.6%.

Jackson County Memorial Hospital implemented TeamBirth, a structured maternity care model designed to strengthen communication and shared decision-making among patients, families and the clinical care team. Staff participated in training and simulation exercises through partnerships with the Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative and Ariadne Labs, and the hospital introduced tools such as in-room speakerphones so providers can join conversations with patients remotely.

The model centers on regular bedside “huddles” that bring together the patient, their support person, the nurse and the care team at key moments during labor. Discussions focus on patient preferences, labor progress, maternal and fetal status, and next steps in care. The hospital incorporated TeamBirth into childbirth education classes to teach patients about the process before delivery. Early results are promising: 217 patients reported participating in labor huddles, with high scores on Maternal Autonomy and Decision-Making measures and positive feedback reflecting stronger trust in clinical teams and greater clarity around care options.

This is a member-only resource. Members, please log into your AHA.org account to watch the replay.