Welcome, Silke Akerson!
The OPC is excited to announce Silke Akerson as the new OPC managing director. Silke Akerson, MPH, CPM, LDM, has been a member of the governing board for several years and leads the Community Birth Transfer Partnership, a transfer improvement initiative of the OPC. She is the past executive director of the Oregon Midwifery Council, a consultant in quality improvement in maternal and infant health, and has practiced as a home birth midwife for 23 years. Her work has been focused on quality improvement in maternal and infant health, advocacy for increased access to midwifery care and professional development for maternity care providers. Silke is thrilled to be joining OPC to be able to focus fully on quality improvement for Oregon mothers, birthing people and babies!
Thank You!
The work of the OPC would not be possible without the passion and commitment of our OPC partners and participating hospitals. Your tireless commitment to improving the quality of care for parents and babies is truly commendable. Oregon continues to make great strides in our maternal health care due to the collaborative efforts of our dedicated health care workers and support staff.
Preterm Awareness
November is Prematurity Awareness Month. According to the March of Dimes most recent Report Card, more than 380,000 babies – 10.4% of all births – were born preterm in 2022, earning the United States a D+ grade for preterm birth rates. However, in the state-by-state report cards, Oregon received a B rating due to the state’s preterm rate of 8.7% in 2022. View the report card to see a breakdown by county, race/ethnicity and other factors. Please note, March of Dimes only considers whether a Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) or Perinatal Quality Collaborative are federally funded. As Oregon’s MMRC and the OPC are state-funded, they are shown to not have an indicated funding/policy in the Oregon state report card.
Maternal Data Center (MDC) Lightning Rounds: Electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQMs) and Severe Obstetric Complications
The MDC Lightning Rounds are 30-minute sessions dedicated to a single measure, tool or topic in the MDC. The December Lightning Round topic will continue the conversation about eCQMs in the MDC, with an emphasis on the new Severe Obstetric Complications (ePC-07) measure. Please register in advance through link below (note that this will register you for the entire Lightning Round series).
Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023; Noon–12:30 p.m. (PT)
CMS Birthing-Friendly Hospital Designation
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will begin displaying the ”Birthing-Friendly” designation icon on CMS’ Care Compare online tool and interactive map. CMS created the new designation to identify hospitals and health systems that participate in a statewide or national perinatal quality improvement collaborative program and that implement evidence-based care to improve maternal health. Participation in an Oregon Perinatal Collaborative quality improvement initiative meets the current requirements for the Birthing-Friendly designation. In Oregon, 38 hospitals currently have the “Birthing-Friendly” designation.
Exciting News in 2024!
Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy Patient Safety Bundle
Interested in learning more about the next OPC initiative? For more information on the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health’s Patient Safety Bundle on Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy, click here for a list of resources.
Is your hospital interested in participating in this bundle rollout? Contact the OPC for more information.
