Health Professionals

Health Professionals

Team-Based Care 

ACNM endorsed and assisted with the development of Collaboration on Practice: Implementing Team-Based Care which was published by ACOG in 2016. This toolkit is a resource for local practices, institutions, and regional and state leadership to coordinate and improve team-based care between midwives and physicians.

Every person needs a team.

“Team-based care is the provision of health services to individuals, families, and/or their communities by at least two health care providers who work collaboratively with patients and their families—to the extent preferred by each patient—to accomplish shared goals within and across settings to achieve coordinated, high-quality care.”

“Collaboration is a process involving mutually beneficial active participation between autonomous individuals whose relationships are governed by negotiated shared norms and visions. Collaboration is necessary for a team to function optimally…”

“…the integrated team-based approach represented in this document is one in which health care providers should be able to practice to the full extent of their education, certification, and experience,…”

The full document can be downloaded here.

This document has been endorsed by 19 organizations including: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), American College Health Associations, American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), American College of Nurse-Midwives (CNM), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOOG), American College of Physicians (ACP), American Society of Addiction Medicine, American Society of Physician Assistants in Obstetrics and Gynecology (APAOG), Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA), Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Institute for Patient and Family-Centered Care (IPFCC), National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH), National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP), National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF), Pacific Business Group on Health, Society for Physician Assistants in Pediatrics (SPAP)

ACNM+ACOG Joint Statement of Practice Relations Between Obstetrician-Gynecologists and Certified Nurse-Midwives/Certified Midwives

Virginia’s Professional Organizations & Resources

March of Dimes Report Card gives a comprehensive review of the health of moms and babies across the US and Puerto Rico. In 2020, Virginia was given a grade of C related to our relatively high rate of preterm birth and no improvement in our disparity ratio for preterm birth by race and ethnicity.

In Virginia, the preterm birth rate among Black women is 54% higher than the rate among all other women. (MOD 2020 VA Report Card)

Cost of Having a Baby Report was updated in 2020 with a new analysis from the Health Care Cost Institute which examined the variation in healthcare spending on childbirth among commercial insurance plans.

AWHONN Perinatal Quality Measures Process The actions of nurses have a significant impact on patient outcomes; therefore, a vital component of improving health care is to measure the quality of nursing care. This resource links to Women’s Health and Perinatal Nursing Care Quality (NCQ) measures by The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN).

Quality Patient Care in Labor and Delivery: A Call to Action Link to the PDF white paper developed by SMFM, ACOG, ACOOG, AAFP, ACNM, AAP, and AWHONN supporting normal physiologic birth and patient-centered care.

Transforming Communication and Safety Culture in Intrapartum Care: A Multi-Organization Blueprint (Link to PDF download from the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health for members).

www.safehealthcareforeverywoman.org Link to the website developed by the Council on Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care, whose mission is to continually improve patient safety in women’s health care through multidisciplinary collaboration that drives culture change.

Click to view additional resources available in the Framework for Quality Improvement Resource Toolbox, or search our resource library by clicking here.

virginia neonatal perinatal collaborative

Vision/Mission

The Virginia Neonatal-Perinatal Collaborative exists to ensure that every mother has the best possible perinatal care and every infant cared for in Virginia has the best possible start to life. We believe in an evidence-based, data-driven collaborative process that involves care providers for women, infants, and families as well as state and local leaders. We believe that working together now will create a stronger, healthier Virginia in the future.

VNPC Goals

  • To provide assistance to hospitals and obstetric providers in performing quality improvement initiatives designed to improve pregnancy outcomes, including decreasing the preterm birth rate to Healthy People 2030 Goals and to decrease maternal mortality by 50%
  • To enhance the quality of state-wide perinatal data and to provide hospital-specific data back to participating hospitals promptly so as to accomplish quality improvement goals
  • To provide assistance to hospitals and newborn care providers in performing quality improvement initiatives designed to improve neonatal outcomes, including decreasing morbidity and mortality as well as decreasing length of stay
  • To inform and involve the community, including health care providers, nurses, ancillary medical staff, payers, hospital administrators, and, most importantly, patients in efforts to make Virginia the safest and best place to deliver babies
  • To narrow the racial and ethnic disparities with the achievement of health equity in pregnancy and neonatal outcomes