NEW PROJECTS

MATERNAL SAFETY

THE AIM (ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATION ON MATERNAL HEALTH) HYPERTENSION QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (OIP)

In Ohio, an average of 21 women die each year due to pregnancy or delivery complications, a chain of events initiated by pregnancy, or aggravation of a condition by the physiologic effects of pregnancy. Considerable racial disparities exist, with Ohio black women more than two and a half times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications as white women. Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) affects women at a much higher rate, occurring in 143 per 10,000 deliveries in 2013.  The Ohio Department of Health’s (ODH) Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (PAMR) indicates that more than half of these deaths and events are preventable. Hypertension has been cited nationally as potentially being the most preventable for severe maternal morbidity and mortality.  Recommendations from the Joint Commission to be implemented on January 1, 2021 reflect an emphasis on timely treatment of severely elevated blood pressures in pregnancy.

In order to address these maternal health complications, OPQC is providing Quality Improvement (QI) support on the AIM (Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health) Hypertension Quality Improvement Project (QIP). The project is sponsored by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), administered by the Government Resource Center (GRC), in collaboration with the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA), and in partnership with the Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, University Hospitals, MetroHealth, and TriHealth.

The Ohio Maternal Safety QIP aims to reduce the rate of severe maternal morbidity and mortality associated with hypertension in pregnancy and postpartum, reduce disparities, and implement clinical best practices and QI tools for treating maternal hypertension. 

THE PROJECT AIMS TO:

  1. Reduce the rate of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) across Ohio in pregnant and postpartum women related to HTN* by 20% by September 2024.

  2. Reduce the rate of maternal mortality in pregnant and postpartum women with HTN* across Ohio from X% to X% by September 2024.

  3. Reduce disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality with HTN* across Ohio by 25% by September 2024.

    *Hypertension in pregnancy = chronic HTN, gestational HTN, preeclampsia, eclampsia, or preeclampsia superimposed on pre-existing HTN