Recently, Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia became the first in the nation to complete The Joint Commission’s Maternal Levels of Care Verification. Developed in collaboration with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Maternal Levels of Care Verification aims to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality by encouraging the growth and evolution of systems that help standardize perinatal regionalization and risk appropriate maternal care.
Participating interviewees included:
- Janis Dubow, Vice President of Patient Care and Chief Nursing Officer, Northside Hospital System
- Kelly Inoue, Operations Director of Women’s Services, Northside Hospital
- Ellen Evans, Director of Accreditation and Patient Safety, Northside Hospital System
Q: What kind of provider organization is Northside Hospital?
Janis Dubow: Northside Hospital is one of Georgia’s leading health care systems, with five acute-care hospitals and more than 275 outpatient locations across the state. Our 621-bed Atlanta campus delivered more than 15,800 babies last year, more than any other single U.S. hospital, giving us unmatched experience with high-risk, complicated pregnancies.
Q: Why did Northside Hospital decide to pursue Maternal Levels of Care Verification?
Janis Dubow: The Georgia Department of Public Health wanted to improve the care for moms and babies in Georgia, and we wanted to be a part of that. Members from Northside were part of the original group tasked with defining the maternal standards. I think aiming for verification was a natural outgrowth of that process. Once verification was available, we already had the partnership between Georgia and The Joint Commission, so we were ready.
Q: What are some of the outcomes that resulted from the verification process?
Kelly Inoue: We have noticed a sense of pride in the work that our team does. Ultimately, this helps us with quality measures, with retention and with community outreach. This verification demonstrates to the community that we are leaders in maternal health.
Janis Dubow: The whole process was very interactive and collaborative, incorporating the entire team. The format of the discussion was truly interdisciplinary, and that really helped to get everybody on the same page. The verification process highlighted how the entire team worked together and helped to standardize the care that we provide.
Q: What advice would you give an organization who might be thinking about pursuing verification?
Ellen Evans: The key is to sit down and read the standards and then complete your own gap analysis. Remind yourself that you are doing these things, you are providing a high level of care and you can do this.
Q: What kind of impact do you think this process will have on the community, in terms of the care that you provide?
Janis Dubow: It helps ensure that people in the community have a clear understanding of all the services that are available to them. One thing that the community will hopefully understand is that we can help them with their pregnancy whether it is low risk or high risk. We want our community to feel totally confident that we can help mothers through all parts of their pregnancy journeys.
Discover more about Joint Commission Maternal Levels of Care Verification.