Lead Agency/Program Director: Johns Hopkins University/Andreea Creanga, MD, PhD
Partners: Maryland Department of Health; Maryland Patient Safety Center; and University of Maryland Baltimore County, Kirwan Institute.
Related Initiatives & Collaboratives: Perinatal Quality Collaborative; Maternal Mortality Review Committee; Maternal Mortality Review Stakeholder Group (MDH Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities), MD Healthy Start Program, the Health Officers from MD’s 24 local health departments, the MD Commission for Women, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Healthy New Moms Campaign of the Mental Health Association, House of Ruth (providers serving primarily minority and low income women and families that have experienced a maternal death); and the Perinatal Outreach Program.
MHLIC Coach: Erin McClain, MPH, MA
Outcome Measures: Access to maternal health care; quality of maternal health care, early referral for maternal complications; early care seeking and informed self-advocacy
Goals:
Establish a state-focused Maternal Health Task Force to create and implement a strategic plan that incorporates activities outlined in the state’s most recent State Title V Needs Assessment
- Maryland Department of Health will chair ~32 member MHTF
- MHTF will develop a state-focused strategic plan that incorporates outlined in 2015 and upcoming 2020 MD Title V Needs Assessment
- Develop sustainability plan to maintain access to quality maternity care services
Improve the collection, analysis, and application of state-level data on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity (SMM)
- Develop MD-Mother website to house state-level maternal health resources, program data, and e-learning platform for provider trainings (UMBC)
- Annually, MMRC in partnership with MHTF will develop a 2-page data brief describing key findings from reviewed pregnancy-related cases.
- Design state-wide SMM surveillance system
Promote and execute innovation in maternal health service delivery, such as improving access to maternal care services, identifying and addressing workforce needs, and/or supporting postpartum and interconception care services, among others
- Use 4-5 representative cases of pregnancy-related or pregnancy associated deaths to develop training curriculum on identifying and preventing causes of death.
- Implement maternal safety protocols throughout state (support final year of opioid collaborative in 2020)
- Offer Quality Improvement and implementation skills training sessions (potentially adapt California’s Maternal Quality Improvement Academy, Dartmouth’s Clinical Microsystems curriculum, or Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s models).
- Review state policies related to maternal health workforce and provider compensation for substance use and mental health disorder screenings, brief advice, referral for specialized care.
- Support Grand Rounds and other training curricula that enhance provider skills in identifying and referring patients with SMM and substance use disorders
- Contract with Kirwan Institute to develop equity in maternal care toolkit
- Develop Perinatal Telemedicine Program that offers on-demand, MFM consultation for all Level I and II hospitals accessing MD-Mother platform
- Disseminate early warning signs education materials and adapt instructions in home visiting program materials