The first annual Oregon Perinatal Collaborative Summit, “Leading Perinatal Safety in Oregon,” will bring together leading nurses and physicians from around the state to share best practices on improving the quality of maternity care. All specializing in obstetrics, the providers will be gathering at Providence St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Portland on October 30th. The Summit is presented by the Oregon Perinatal Collaborative (OPC), March of Dimes and The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems.
OPC Chair, Aaron Caughey, MD, PhD, from Oregon Health Science University (OHSU), will review the Collaborative’s first two major initiatives since convening in 2011: eliminating early elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks gestation and reducing primary C-sections.
The Summit will serve as the rollout and demonstration of the Oregon Maternal Data Center (OMDC). The OMDC, created on behalf of the OPC and spearheaded by Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation (Q Corp), is a robust and rapid cycle on-line tool for hospitals, which generates over 40 quality and performance improvement metrics. The OMDC is built off the system developed by the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative based at Stanford University and led by Dr. Elliott Main and colleagues. Dr. Main, the Summit’s keynote speaker, will be presenting on OMDC as well as speaking about reducing maternal mortality.
Also featured at the Summit will be the work of the OPC sub-committee on Maternity Models of Care, chaired by Helen Bellanca, MD, from Health Share of Oregon. The OPC determined there was a need to integrate behavioral health into the prenatal care setting and the sub-committee developed a Family Well-Being Assessment Tool to address the need. This tool is currently being piloted in Oregon.
Other topics covered in a policy panel presentation by OPC steering committee members are:
* Access to LARC (long-acting reversible contraception)
* Planned out of hospital births approaching 5% in Oregon
* Vaccinations during pregnancy
* Access to 17-P to prevent recurrent preterm birth
About the Oregon Perinatal Collaborative (OPC)
The OPC is a group of health care leaders in Oregon convened by March of Dimes in 2011 to tackle early elective deliveries in the Portland metro area. The immediate success encouraged the providers involved to establish a state-wide organization focused on improving perinatal outcomes through collaboration and evidence-based practices on an on-going basis. The OPC meets bi-monthly and is chaired by Aaron Caughey, MD, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Associate Dean for Women’s Health Research and Policy, Oregon Health & Science University.
