Mission
We
are a statewide partnership of health care professionals
and public and private organizations working to improve
perinatal health in West Virginia.
- We want health care providers to have the latest knowledge
and
expertise about caring for pregnant women and their babies. - We encourage new laws that promote better health for
pregnant women and their babies. - We create opportunities for perinatal professionals to share
their expertise with each other. - We spread the latest knowledge about perinatal health
through educational programs. - We encourage efforts that reduce tobacco and drug use
among pregnant women and foster oral health care in
pregnant women and infants. - We maintain knowledge of research and
trends in mother/
child health and a create mechanisms to distribute that
information to the public and health professionals.
Blueprint to Improve Perinatal Health
In
2006, thirty-three organizations partnered to uncover reasons for
declining healthy birth outcomes in West Virginia and find solutions.
Over 200 perinatal
professionals participated in a Key Informant Survey and 90 contributed in
drafting the results of that study and recommendations: Blueprint
to Improve West Virginia Perinatal Health (2006). Then after a year's worth of focused effort, the Partnership reported on progress
implementing the Blueprint and published
Reports on the Blueprint to Improve West Virginia Perinatal Health
(2007).
West Virginia health care professionals
voiced a strong desire to participate in the process to improve perinatal care. They indicated that although many elements
of a cohesive system are present in the State, we must move
towards a statewide system rather than a fractured regional
approach. We need to utilize new methods of communication,
provide better support for medical professionals in rural areas,
better utilize our intellectual resources, and more fully
implement parent support and education programs. The West
Virginia Perinatal Partnership was born of these desires.