Contact: Leasa Lowy, MD, Medical Director Women’s Services, (360) 733-2092; Cindy Preston, RN, Director Women’s and Children’s Services, (360) 738-6361.
PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center is part of a 16-member national collaborative awarded a $2.9 million grant to reduce preventable birth injuries and improve safety for newborns.
The Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has awarded a three-year demonstration grant for not-for-profit entities to Fairview Health Services in Minneapolis, the collaboration leader, to extend the national collaborative that is reducing birth-related injuries. Leveraging knowledge gained from similar initiatives, participating hospitals aim to improve their culture of safety, increase teamwork and improve communications among team members.
At PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, with a vision to provide safe, evidence-based compassionate care, every time, every touch, participation in the safety initiative is part of a natural progression. According to Leasa Lowy, MD, medical director of Women’s Services, inclusion in the select national group is important validation.
“We are very pleased to receive this recognition,” said Dr. Lowy. “This award validates that at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, we have a strong foundation to continue efforts to improve the quality of care and community health services.”
The demonstration grant is part of the patient safety and medical liability initiative that President Obama announced during a 2009 address to a joint session of Congress. The grant was one of only seven large grants awarded nationwide with a particular focus on obstetrical (OB) safety.
“Our goal is to provide the very safest OB care,” said Cindy Preston, director of Women’s and Children’s Services at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center. “Being part of this collaborative for the last three years has positively impacted our ability to review work processes, policies, supplies and equipment, teamwork and communication – all essential elements in a culture of safety.”
Earlier this year, PeaceHealth St. Joseph added an OB hospitalist and anesthesiology program. The hospitalists are physicians who are board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology and can care for transfer patients with high-risk pregnancies, provide emergency services for obstetrics patients and assist at cesarean section deliveries. PeaceHealth St. Joseph also provides high-tech simulation training as another way to ensure safe care.
“Over the next three years we will primarily focus on medical simulation, particularly regarding OB emergencies,” said Preston. Over the past few years, PeaceHealth St. Joseph caregiver training has utilized an OB simulator that replicates the labor process and infant delivery.
PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, which includes a not-for-profit full-service hospital sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, is part of the PeaceHealth system with medical centers in Alaska, Washington and Oregon. In addition to the hospital and PeaceHealth Medical Group, PeaceHealth’s local services include several Centers of Excellence, PeaceHealth Laboratories, a specialty clinic in Sedro-Woolley and a critical access hospital being developed on San Juan Island.
