The Perinatal Outreach program of SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center is designed to improve outcomes for mothers and babies through educational programs and quality improvement activities for regional care providers. The Cardinal Glennon and SSM St. Mary's Perinatal Outreach program collaborates with the St. Louis University Division of Neonatology and the SLU Maternal Fetal Medicine Department to offer educational programs across eastern Missouri .
Perinatal Outreach's S.T.A.B.L.E. Program is designed to help health care providers organize care of the sick newborn in the stabilization period between initial resuscitation and transport to a higher level of care. Stabilizing the infant prior to transport helps minimize the risk of adverse events that may contribute to morbidity or mortality. In 2003, 36 community hospital physicians and nurses attended S.T.A.B.L.E. training sessions, with impressive gains in pre- and post-session testing.
Program Goals:
- Increase the percentage of pregnant women and infants who receive risk-appropriate care.
- Develop and implement an educational curriculum for physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals, healthcare consumers and school personnel.
- Facilitate communication between community providers in Missouri and Illinois and the tertiary center.
- Monitor regional perinatal statistics and develop programs targeted to improve perinatal outcomes.
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Perinatal Outreach presented 29 educational programs to 637 Eastern Missouri perinatal providers in 2003. The resulting knowledge gains benefit infants and families throughout the state, leading to healthier children and better prospects for long-term health.