Iowa Maternal Quality Care Collaborative

The Family Birth Center (FBC) at Boone County Hospital joined the Iowa Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (IMQCC) in 2021. This collaborative started its work in Iowa hospitals with an initiative to decrease nulliparous, term, singleton, and vertex cesarean section rates, then switched the focus to decreasing postpartum hemorrhage rates, and is currently working on improving response to severe hypertension. The IMQCC has monthly meetings on Zoom, monthly check-ins with advisors, as well as quarterly conferences that have been held in person and virtually. The conferences bring physicians and nurses from the delivering hospitals in the state together to collaborate and implement change.  

With the current severe hypertension initiative, the FBC staff have been using chart reviews and simulations to see where processes can be improved. Severe hypertension is diagnosed when a patient has at least two blood pressures that are ≥ 160/110. This is not an event that occurs frequently in the FBC unit which is why the simulations are crucial to make sure staff are able to respond appropriately when the situation does arise. For the chart reviews, staff track the frequency of severe hypertension and the response time for that patient to receive treatment. The data collected is submitted to the IMQCC and they combine the data from all participating hospitals to assess the impact of the FBC efforts. 

The goal for this initiative is to revise the current algorithm that is followed for severe hypertension treatment and perform staff education in the FBC, clinics, and the ER.  BCH wants pregnant women to have the best care possible, wherever they are being evaluated. The staff wants interventions to be consistent and make sure they are happening in a timely manner. The IMQCC has helped the Family Birth Center provide an even higher level of care for our patients.