More About the W. Va. Perinatal Health Partnership
Since 2006 the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership has studied and made
policy recommendations to improve W. Va perinatal health. The Partnership is
a group of more than 30 health care provider organizations, agencies,
associations, government entities, and non-profits who believe that the
health of West Virginia’s babies has a tremendous impact on the state’s
economy, workforce development and family well-being. The Partnership comes
together to study and identify the causes of poor birth outcomes and ways to
improve them. Ten key policy solutions were identified through a research
and survey process that was published in a document called the
Blueprint to Improve West Virginia’s Perinatal Health. In 2007 the
Partnership published a
second report speaking to the policy issues that are being addressed, to
accomplishments made and to improvements still needed.
The 2008 Workplan addresses more needed improvements. Already progress is being made through legislation, funding, and policy. Here are just a few of the actions taken to improve perinatal outcomes in West Virginia:
• Developed guidelines for obstetrical and neonatal practices; Identified
a uniform prenatal risk assessment tool;
• Will conduct a Perinatal Transport Summit June 19, 2008.
• Accomplished the passage of SB 234 to establish Maternal Mortality
Reviews.
• Established live video consultation between community perinatal providers
and specialist at tertiary care centers;
• Identified Obstetrical Provider Shortage Areas and developed economically
feasible models for care in those areas.
• Identified CNM credentialing best practices in WV Hospitals.
• Working to establish a joint MSN-CNM education program available in WV.
• Set benchmarks and began measuring changes in oral health care use by
Medicaid pregnant women.
• Identified Costly Medical Procedures Associated With Poor Birth Outcomes.
• Developed recommendations for elective labor induction to occur only after
39 weeks gestation. WVU School of Medicine, CAMC, and Cabell Huntington
Hospital have initiated Quality Initiatives to guide prudent decision making
for labor inductions. • Developed Medical Guidelines to Identify and Treat
Drug Use During Pregnancy.
• In the process of developing a Tool Kit for hospital personnel to identify
and treat neonates with addiction withdrawal.
• Conducted medical legal research to clarify issues related to treating
pregnant women with addictions.
• SB 148 and HB 2498 provided protection to breastfeeding mothers.
• Obtained $20,000 through efforts of the Legislative Oversight Committee on
Health and Human Resources to provide lactation training for 72 hospital
nurses in 2007, and will provide additional training in 2008.
• Expanded Testing of Newborns to all 28 metabolic conditions. • NCI
provided a major grant to WVDHHR The Right From the Start (SCRIPT) to focus
on tobacco cessation efforts during pregnancy with the RFTS clients.
• Tobacco-Free Hospital Imitative was established to encourage and support
WV hospitals to establish tobacco-free campuses. The WVHA is sponsoring a
2-day workshop May 15-16, 2008 for hospitals as part of this initiative.