The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), the leading nonprofit organization working to accelerate change in healthcare, has been in the news this month because its CEO, Donald Berwick, was recently nominated to head up the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (For those not familiar with Berwick, read his phenomenal article, 'What 'Patient-Centered' Should Mean: Confessions of an Extremist'). Berwick himself and IHI's Managing Director, Sue Gullo, RN, were key players in the recent Transforming Maternity Care Project coordinated by Childbirth Connection. Now, the IHI is rolling out programs to help hospitals and health care systems implement some of the work put forth in the project's Blueprint for Action. These initiatives also coincide with the new Joint Commission perinatal core measures which hospitals may implement as of this month. Here's what is on offer so far:

• Earlier this month, IHI recorded Momentum for Maternity of the Safest Kind, a podcast with the Transforming Maternity Care leadership about trends in health care for pregnant women, new mothers, and newborns and the work needed to reliably provide safe and effective care, reduce disparities, and rein in costs.
• On Tuesday, May 4 from 3-4 PM ET, Sue Gullo will host a public call to discuss the IHI's work on improving safety in second-stage labor. The call can be accessed through the IHI Webex System (Click on Improving Perinatal Care Collaborative Info Call) or via land line at 866-469-3239 (enter the session ID 354 952 217*. More information can be found on IHI's Improving Perinatal Care page.
• A series of seven web-based sessions for hospital staff involved in quality improvement efforts will focus on the safe use of oxytocin for induction, starting with avoiding all elective deliveries before 39 weeks. The series begins May 14.

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Published: April 27, 2010

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