- California: Victoria Williams, a family practitioner who delivers babies at Petaluma Valley Hospital, earlier this month delivered her own child in a car on Highway 101, just a few miles short of the hospital and a waiting delivery team. After her water broke in the morning, Williams called ahead to advise her midwife and the hospital that she was in labor—but she started involuntarily pushing while her husband was driving on the highway. Williams delivered a healthy baby girl just 40 minutes after her water broke (Smith, Press-Democrat, 5/11).
- Ohio: Sheldon Retchin last week resigned from his positions as CEO of Ohio State University (OSU) Wexner Medical Center and EVP of health sciences at the facility. Retchin stepped down after OSU College of Medicine professors and physicians, as well as several senior members of Wexner's neurological institute, submitted letters voicing concerns about Retchin's leadership. OSU officials said while the "allegations raised in letters sent to the news media this week were untrue, these letters may have damaged important relationships necessary for continued future success, and Dr. Retchin has chosen to move on in the best interests of the university, himself, and his family." Following a leave of absence, Retchin will return to OSU in a new position "to pursue health policy research and teaching" (Vaidya, Becker's Hospital Review, 5/10; Castellucci, Modern Healthcare, 5/11; OSU release, 5/9).
- Virginia: Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) Virginia has tapped Joe Mazzo to serve as CEO of John Randolph Medical Center. Randolph, who currently serves as COO at HCA's Lakeview Hospital in Utah, will start his new position on May 30. He succeeds Suzanne Jackson, who is taking on a new role within HCA (Vaidya, Becker's Hospital Review, 5/11).
9 elements of top perinatal patient safety programs
Perinatal care is a high-volume service, accounting for one-fifth of all hospital stays. Yet it is also highly variable, with significant differences in complication rates for both vaginal and cesarean deliveries between hospitals nationwide.
This toolkit is designed to help hospitals seize the opportunity to strengthen perinatal patient outcomes. It includes best practices and resources collected from organizations that have successfully improved labor and delivery care by reducing clinical variability.