Despite West Virginia having an overall severe maternal morbidity (SMM) rate of 3.2% in 2017 and having implemented a four-year educational program from 2012-2016 on obstetric hemorrhage in all delivery hospitals, the rate of women experiencing obstetric hemorrhage who developed SMM continued to rise. In response, the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership launched a two-year collaborative to implement the AIM Obstetric Hemorrhage Patient Safety Bundle in 2018.

Through engagement with the collaborative, 95% of the hospitals implemented safety measures, such as: a hemorrhage policy or protocol, a hemorrhage cart, quantification of blood loss, and emergency drills and simulations. Most nurses and providers received education on obstetric hemorrhage and an average of 70% of the facilities participated in debriefings and case reviews. As a result, at the end of the first year of the project, the number of women experiencing SMM, excluding transfusions, had decreased from an average of 7.5% between 2012 and 2017 to 6.0% in 2018 and maintained at 6.9% in 2021.   

98 %

Hospitals that have implemented a hemorrhage risk assessment process
89 %

Hospitals that use quantitative blood loss for early detection of hemorrhage.
3 /4

West Virginia hospitals continue to input data into the AIM portal for performance monitoring

“Statistics don’t tell us about the people. Even one mother who experiences obstetrical complications that could have been prevented, is too many. I’m not willing for that to be any family’s loved one. Every woman has the right to safe, equitable care that meets the needs of her and her family.”

– Melanie Riley, RN NE-BC MSN
Nurse Coordinator

New simulation models for on-site OB Emergency Simulation Trainings.

For more information, contact:
Mary Beth Stewart
mbstewart@wvperinatal.org
or
Melanie Riley
rileym@marshall.edu.