Washington
State Hospital
Association
Washington State Perinatal Collaborative
Reducing Elective Delivery at 37 to 39 Weeks Gestational Age
Participation Fact Sheet for Hospitals
Dear Colleagues,
We are writing you to invite your hospital to participate in a collaborative to reduce elective
deliveries between 37 to 39 weeks. This is a state-wide collaborative opportunity supporting
providers and hospitals achieve the ACOG recommendation not to perform elective deliveries
prior to 39 weeks in order to avoid iatrogenic prematurity.
The work of the collaborative will help hospitals improve care for patients, but also help
improve scores on this measure for Washington State’s Medicaid quality incentive.
Overview
Elective delivery at 37 to 39 weeks gestational age is associated with poorer neonatal clinical
outcomes, including respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), admission to neonatal intensive care
unit (NICU), increased length of hospital stay, and infant mortality. Elective induction is
associated with increased Cesarean delivery, longer maternal length of stay, and higher cost
compared to spontaneous labor.
The Washington State Perinatal Collaborative in collaboration with the University of
Washington Medical Center, Washington State Hospital Association, and Washington State
Department of Health is inviting hospitals in the state to participate in a patient safety program
to reduce elective delivery at 37 to 39 weeks. The goal of this program is to reduce elective
deliveries before 39 weeks gestational age to 7% or less.
Partners in this program include:
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University of Washington Medical Center
Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology
Department of Pediatrics-Division of Neonatology
March of Dimes
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Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA)
Rural Healthcare Quality Network (RHQN)
Washington State Department of Health (DOH)
Perinatal Regional Network Coordinators
For a complete list go to: http://www.waperinatal.org/profiles.cfm?categoriesID=26.
Who/Target Audience
Inpatient maternal-child care units such as labor and delivery units and community obstetrical
and perinatal care providers.
When
The program is being launched in November 2010 and will conclude with an evaluation in April
2012. Additional web conferences are scheduled over the next few months with a face-to-face
meeting planned for the end of calendar year 2011. Please sign up by December 15, 2010.
Benefits to Washington Hospitals
By joining in a state-wide and national learning collaborative, participating hospitals will
benefit by:
 Learning how to apply practical tools to reduce elective delivery based on the latest
medical evidence;
 Receiving hands-on instruction by faculty from the University of Washington and other
physician and clinical leaders;
 Receiving ongoing support from expert faculty on conference calls and in-person Safe
Table Learning Collaborative;
 Collecting data that is consistent with definitions with other submission requirements
(e.g. Leapfrog, The Joint Commission);
 Support in building physician leadership and engagement.
Requirements for Participating Hospitals
As part of the program, participating hospital units will commit to the following:
 Provide a commitment letter from the hospital CEO to the Washington State Hospital
Association.
 Form a project team that includes, at a minimum:
o Physician champion
o Nurse manager/champion
o Quality improvement champion
 Collect three month 2010 baseline data - July, August, and September 2010.
 Analyze baseline data and determine quality improvement focus areas.
 Plan and implement planned interventions.
 Collect, publish internally, and submit quarterly data from January through December
2011 to WSHA via Quality Benchmarking System (QBS). Data will be made available to
the Medicaid Purchasing Administration if requested for validation of the quality
incentive.
For More Information
Additional information is available at http://www.waperinatal.org.
For questions on:
 Collaborative and data definitions: Suzan Walker, Perinatal Regional Coordinator,
suzanw@u.washington.edu or (206) 221-4656.
 Participation and sign up: Carol Wagner, WSHA Vice President Patient Safety,
carolw@wsha.org or (206) 577-1831.
 State-wide perinatal improvement efforts: Bat-Sheva Stein, DOH Maternal and Infant
Health, Bat-Sheva.stein@doh.wa.gov or (360) 236-3582.
Thomas J Benedetti, MD, MHA, Professor
Carol Wagner, RN, MBA
Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Washington Medical Center
Vice President Patient Safety
Washington State Hospital Association
Washington
State Hospital
Association
Commitment to Participate in Reducing Elective Deliveries
In signing this pledge, you acknowledge receiving information about Reducing Elective Delivery at 37 to 39
Weeks and are supportive of the unique opportunity being developed for Washington hospitals to
collaborate on reducing elective deliveries in your hospital. You have read the fact sheet and agree to the
commitments listed.
Return completed document to Janet Van Dyke at janetv@wsha.org or fax (206) 577-1936.
Hospital Name:
Project Contact Name:
E-mail Address:
Physician Champion:
E-mail Address:
Administrative Champion:
E-mail Address:
Title:
Phone:
Title:
Phone:
Title:
Phone:
Sincerely,
____________________________________________
Signature of Authorizing Chief Executive Officer for participation
____________________________________________
Printed Name of Authorizing Chief Executive Officer for participation
________________________
Date Signed
November 2010