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Cleveland Clinic Expands Maternity Program to More Hospitals
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After adopting a dedicated labor and delivery initiative in fall 2022, Cleveland Clinic is expanding its TeamBirth model to three additional hospitals, citing improved patient satisfaction and a reduction in cesarean section rates.
Cleveland Clinic describes TeamBirth as a shared decision-making model that focuses on improving communication between caregivers and pregnant patients to enhance safety and quality of care. Cleveland Clinic Akron General was the first to adopt it in October 2022.
In the TeamBirth model, the patient care team meets with patients in the birthing units at regular intervals before, during, and after delivery to review the patient’s current condition and preferences and set clear expectations about what’s to come.
Whiteboards identifying the patient as the leader of the care team, the patient’s support personnel, all caregivers on the patient’s team, the patient’s preferences for care, and the agreed upon care and progress plans for the patient and baby are hung in every birth center room.
WHAT IS THE IMPACT
TeamBirth was created by Ariadne Labs as part of its Birth Decisions Initiative. The model was implemented at Akron General through a partnership between the March of Dimes and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide safe and equitable maternity care for patients and to specifically address racial inequities and the disparity gap in outcomes for Black women.
This includes implementing activities such as maternity-specific implicit bias training, stratifying and analyzing outcomes by race and ethnicity, forming an anti-racism task force, and adopting TeamBirth. Cleveland Clinic hospitals that are launching TeamBirth are incorporating these aspects into their work as well.
Data from Akron General showed that the hospital’s C-section rate was disproportionately higher for Black patients than for white patients before TeamBirth — 41% versus 27%, respectively. By January 2024, those numbers were 22% for Black patients and 23% for white patients.
Patient satisfaction has also improved, with Akron General staff receiving 100 percent satisfaction ratings in areas such as friendliness, helpfulness of nurses and how well the doctor and staff worked together during delivery.
THE BIGGER TREND
TeamBirth Implementation Supports Cleveland Clinic Maternal and Child Health Center initiative, launched in 2023 to support women at risk from pregnancy through the baby’s first year of life, with a focus on better access and coordinated care across multiple specialties.
The link between race and maternal health has received increased attention in recent years. In September 2022, for example, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association released data showing evidence that women of color are at increased risk of pregnancy-related complicationsregardless of whether you have commercial health insurance or Medicaid.
Instead, the numbers indicate that maternal health disparities in the U.S. are likely the result of broader health care system and societal challenges, including underlying chronic conditions, racial inequities, and likely biases within the health care system itself.
Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a He Publication in the media.