Obstetric Emergency Management Plan

Cody, Wyo. (January 23, 2020) - Yellowstone Insurance Exchange, RRG is pleased to announce Cody Regional Health earned the Jeff Martin Award for Excellence. The award was presented to the Cody Regional Health team at the Yellowstone Annual Meeting & Risk Management Conference held in June at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

This year, Cody Regional Health was recognized for implementing an Obstetric Emergency Management plan that focused on postpartum hemorrhage. The project focused on recognition, readiness, and response. Every patient that is admitted is screened for risk factors that may make her a candidate for postpartum bleeding complications.

“We have a specific plan in place with a flowsheet and pocket cards available to the team that outlines the specific steps to implement in the various stages of this emergency. We have a postpartum hemorrhage kit available at every delivery that contains medications that may be needed to control bleeding. We also have an entire postpartum hemorrhage cart that contains lifesaving equipment,” stated Women’s Health and Nursery Clinic Coordinator, Sonja Jackson.

CRH has a massive transfusion protocol that can rapidly bring necessary blood products to the bedside. Both the hemorrhage cart and massive transfusion protocol reduce the time the team is away or retrieving materials so more time is spent with the patient without distraction. They began quantifying blood loss instead of estimating it because it was found across the country, as a specialty, no one was consistently accurate with estimation. The most critical time for a woman in childbirth can be the first two hours postpartum.

“Our facility practices simulation-based training and conducts interdisciplinary postpartum hemorrhage drills twice a year. This drill includes lab, bedside nurses, OB practitioners, and house supervisors. By having a better system in place, simulations to provide hands-on education, and improved communication between team members, we have continued to make improvements every year,” stated risk manager Dawn Phillips.

“One of the number one reasons why women become sick or die during the perinatal period is postpartum hemorrhage. The reason why postpartum hemorrhage is number one is an OB team’s failure to recognize or underestimate blood loss. Some patients will have a hemorrhage no matter how much care is provided, but at CRH, we put the focus on what we could do to improve our patient’s outcomes. As a team, we have increased recognition when a patient might be in trouble before she gets there and have decreased the number of postpartum hemorrhages our unit has experienced,” states Women’s Health and Nursery Director, Natika Mitchell-Cowie.

The Jeff Martin Award for Excellence is given only to select hospitals for exemplary performance in the area of patient safety and risk management. The medical professionals and staff at Cody Regional Health are to be commended for their consistent dedication to patient safety and forward-leaning risk management efforts.

Yellowstone Insurance Exchange, RRG is a provider of leading-edge insurance and risk management services to healthcare organizations located in Idaho, New Mexico, Montana, and Wyoming. The company is owned by member hospitals committed to strong patient safety efforts and the delivery of exceptional care.

For assistance with this story, please contact Ashley Trudo at Cody Regional Health at atrudo@codyregionalhealth.org or 307.578.2512.

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About Cody Regional Health Cody Regional Health (CRH) is a national leading critical care access healthcare system serving Northwest Wyoming. CRH employs and partners with over 100 providers offering a wide variety of compressive services including walk-in health clinics, Orthopaedic walk-in clinic, wound care center and cardiology center. Adjacent to the hospital campus is a 94-bed Long-Term Care Center and 16-bed chemical dependency center. CRH offers an 8-bed hospice care house and a regional cancer center. CRH abides by the Planetree philosophy as a model of health care. The Planetree model strives to enhance patient comfort by personalizing, humanizing and demystifying the health care experience. More information can be found at www.codyregionalhealth.org.