5 Things We Learned at the OBGyn Society Conference

In August, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia attended the Georgia OB/GYN Society Annual Meeting & Conference. This year the event took place at The Cloister in Sea Island, Georgia. HMHB was able connect with physicians from across the State and inform them of the work that we do to improve maternal and infant health. Take a moment and check out our Instagram and Facebook for photos and videos of the Conference. In addition, below we’ve listed (5) things we learned during our time in Sea Island at the OB/GYN Society Annual Meeting & Conference. Enjoy!We Can Do Better on Measuring Blood Loss PostpartumWe learned a great deal from the representatives from our Regional Perinatal Centers in Georgia. They had a great display where providers could guess how many grams of blood they believed were present in surgical cloths presented. Providers at multiple conferences guessed anywhere 300 ccs to 1200 ccs. The actual weight? 660 ccs. That is a huge discrepancy! Just goes to show, guessing the weight by eyesight is just not accurate. When a woman's life is on the line, that measurement can make all the difference in alerting the care team to take action. We are appreciative of the Perinatal Regional Centers and their continued efforts to support hospitals as they train staff to accurately measure postpartum blood loss.We also met the folks at Gauss Surgical who created a machine and software platform that can help providers in the operating room to accurately measure blood loss in multiple ways.Triton Overview from Gauss Surgical on Vimeo.High Risk and Pregnant? Ask for Optum. We met with folks from Optum who provide OB home visiting for high-risk patients. They serve women with Medicaid and private insurance. For those enrolled in the program, Optum provides specialized needs of high-risk OB members in the comfort of their homes with 24/7 nurse availability, pharmacy support, education and more. They claim that results include 50 percent decrease in spontaneous preterm birth risks. There is no out of pocket cost for the patient. Any OB provider can refer a patient to the program.Integrated Baby Background Software Can Simplify Registration & Improve Data QualityBaby’s Background was developed in consultation with Genesis Systems, Inc. Genesis is the leading provider of Vital Records in the United States. Genesis noticed that during the course of operations that some of the information collected by birth clerks is collected after birth, usually while the new mom is busy with the baby, or recuperating from the birthing process. This timing creates an opportunity for misinformation to be provided. Baby’s Background was designed with the intent to reduce these issues, to ensure that the information collected is more accurate. Baby’s Background found that it was better to capture this information before the expectant mother delivers. Baby’s Background will use the information that is entered into the system to create the Hospital Information form for the new mother. This form can then be printed and taken to the nurse/birth clerk at the hospital. Baby’s Background also the opportunity to pre-order baby’s State issued Certified Birth Certificate.GaPQC Initiatives and CommitmentThe Georgia Perinatal Quality Collaborative (GaPQC), aims to identify and implement quality improvement strategies to improve maternal and neonatal care and outcomes in Georgia. GaPQC shared with us their maternal initiative that prioritizes AIM Safety Bundles and Postpartum Placement of long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). The initiative focuses on implementation of data-driven, evidence-based best practices bundled to standardize and track outcomes. Currently, GaPQC is focused on implementation of Obstetric Hemorrhage and Severe Hypertension Safety Bundles. This is in line with the recommendations from the Maternal Mortality Review Committee reports from 2012-2013 case reviews. Secondly, the long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARCs) initiative enables recipients to access this method of family planning in the immediate post-partum period. LARCs have proven to be a reliable and frequently desired option for reducing unintended pregnancy and promoting spacing between childbearing.Rural Counties Committed to HealthHMHB is committed to serving the entire State of Georgia, particularly rural counties with decreased access to services, which is why we met with community stakeholders in Appling County on our way to the OBGyn Society Conference last week. Appling County has a population of 18,428 and has a county health ranking of 133/159, but the residents there are determined to turn that around! Through a grant from the Healthcare Georgia Foundation, the county created the Coalition for a Healthy Appling County. The mission is to transform the Appling County community by ensuring access to healthcare, improving access to resources, engaging in strong collaborative alliances, and developing a universal message to communicate health for all. We met some of the coalition members that included the County Manager, Chamber of Commerce, Appling County Cooperative Extension, and the Department of Public Health. We applaud the efforts of Appling County to prioritize the health of their community!Want to learn more about amazing products on the market for maternal and child health? Hear from experts and network with maternal and child health professionals? Join us at the 2018 HMHB Annual Meeting & Conference on October 22-23, 2018.  Click here for more information and registration!DISCLAIMER: This blog post is not an ad, just an outline of some cool things we learned at the OBGyn Society Conference. HMHB did not receive any compensation for this blog post or related stories from any company.