Skip to main content
Alert icon
COVID-19 Resources Click here for details.

Statewide Experts Address Infant and Maternal Concerns

March 19, 2019

A unique, wide-ranging group of national and state-level stakeholders met to highlight the statewide progress being made through the Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care (TIPQC) around Tennessee’s infant and maternal concerns.

The Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care (TIPQC) brought together more than 300 physicians, nurses, hospital administrators, insurance companies, families, legislators and community groups on March 4-5, 2019 at the Cool Springs Marriott in Franklin.

The two (2) day program featured sessions on maternal and child health issues, quality improvement projects, and noted state and national speakers. Tennessee Commissioner of Health, Dr. Lisa Piercey, Dr. Neel Shah, Harvard Medical School & March for Moms, Charles Johnson, 4Kira4Moms, Dr. Debra Bingham, Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement, Dr. Ann Borders, Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative, Dr. Tia Hubbard, UC San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Morgan McDonald, Tennessee Department of Health, Dr. Victor Wu, TennCare, Dr. Stephen Patrick, Vanderbilt Center of Child Health Policy addressed improvement opportunities and efforts on a local, state, and national level. Project Workshops discussed current and ongoing challenges, best practices, successes, and allowed for collaboration around Optimizing Care of the 35-36 Week Infant, Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives, Opioid Use Disorder, Opioid Exposed Newborns, Communication in Disparities, Maternal Depression screening, Trauma Informed Care, and the Tennessee Breastfeeding Coalition.

The attendees were able to sharpen their improvement objectives and projects through collaborative sharing, benchmarking, and learning from the national as well as state experts. Twenty team members from Jackson-Madison County General Hospital attended the program. The team included educators, neonatologists, administrators, nurses, family representatives, and other neonatal clinicians.

“The work in Tennessee around perinatal health has never been more important as we continue to show some of the worst health outcomes across the nation. Engaged teams across the state are showing remarkable progress in changing this tide making Tennessee the best state to be born in,” stated Executive Director, Brenda Barker.

For more information, please contact Deena Kail at 731-541-6448.

The Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care, funded by a grant from the State of Tennessee through the Department of Health. Its goal is to engage providers across the perinatal spectrum in statewide, evidence-based and data-driven quality improvement projects. Please visit their website at www.TIPQC.org.

About West Tennessee Healthcare
West Tennessee Healthcare is a public, not-for-profit healthcare system with locations serving 19 counties in West Tennessee and Southeast Missouri. The mission of West Tennessee Healthcare is to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve while providing exceptional and compassionate care. For more information, visit www.wth.org.