Geisinger Hospitals Recognized for Maternal Healthcare

Five Geisinger hospitals were recipients of the Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative (PA PQC) inaugural Designations Awards.

The awards, presented May 22 at a ceremony in Harrisburg, recognize hospitals for establishing multidisciplinary teams that have demonstrated improvements in maternal and newborn care by sharing best practices in their hospital and community. 

Hospitals could earn a designation for each 2023-24 PA PQC initiative in which they actively participated, including: the availaibility of immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception (IPLARC); maternal substance use disorders (SUD) identification and treatment; and standardizing the treatment of the substance exposed newborn (SEN) to reduce the need for drug therapy. The awards are based on meeting quality improvement milestone criteria from April 2023 through March 2024.

“These recognitions are a reflection of the focus that our Obstetric and Pediatric teams place on high quality and equitable care across the Geisinger system,” said Sandra Culbertson, M.D, chair of Geisinger’s Women and Children’s Institute. “Responding to the opioid crisis and providing easy access to effective contraception are priorities that reflect the needs of families in our communities.” 

Geisinger Medical Center earned a silver designation to recognize its work in the issue areas of SUD focusing on health equity and a bronze designation in IPLARC.

Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital earned a gold designation in SEN, a silver designation in SUD with a health equity focus, and a bronze designation in IPLARC.

Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center earned a gold designation to recognize its work in the issue areas of SUD and a bronze designation in IPLARC.

Geisinger Lewistown Hospital earned a silver designation in SEN with a patient voice focus, a silver designation in SUD with a health equity focus, and a bronze IPLARC designation.

Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton earned a silver designation to recognize its work in the issue areas of SUD focusing on health equity and a bronze designation in IPLARC.

A gold designation signifies a hospital’s proven commitment to health equity and patient voice in their quality improvement work. A silver designation signifies the hospital’s proven commitment to incorporating health equity OR patient voice into its quality improvement work. A bronze designation signifies the hospital met the required quality improvement submission criteria for at least two of the four quarters.

In Pennsylvania, perinatal health issues persist, including racial and ethnic disparities in maternal and neonatal outcomes, higher than average maternal sepsis rates, and drug overdose deaths during pregnancy and postpartum. The PA PQC addresses these challenges through various initiatives, including Maternal Opioid Use Disorder, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, Maternal Sepsis, and Safe Sleep. Through collaborative efforts, the PA PQC aims to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes across the state.

“All Geisinger delivery hospitals have taken an active role in the PA PQC since its inception in 2019. The work is conducted by hospital staff (nurses, care managers and providers) who have shown tremendous dedication to improving care for mothers and babies,” said James Cook, M.D., Geisinger director of newborn services and co-chair on the PA PQC for pediatrics. “This work has been rewarded by the PA PQC with funds to purchase equipment and provide further education to our staff.

“Future PA PQC initiatives for 2024-25 will include a focus on reducing the incidence of both maternal sepsis and sudden unexpected infant death across the region,” Dr. Cook added.

The PA PQC is administered by the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and WHAMglobal, and it is affiliated with the Northeastern PA PQC (NEPaPQC).