USA Health provides training, maternity and neonatal medical carts to rural hospitals
The maternal and newborn initiative has also been made possible through Rural Health Support funding USA Health receives from the state and support from the Alabama Department of Public Health.
By Casandra Andrews
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As maternity deserts continue to widen across rural areas of Alabama and hundreds of other communities throughout the nation, USA Health, the academic health system for the University of South Alabama, is finding more ways to support rural hospitals and healthcare teams to ensure the safety of expectant mothers and their babies.
In May, team members from USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital traveled to three rural Alabama hospitals to deliver fully stocked maternity and neonatal medical carts to the outlying sites that no longer have labor and delivery departments. The team also spent time at each location to demonstrate how the equipment should be used. As fate would have it, less than a week after the carts were delivered, a baby was safely delivered at one of the three hospitals.
“We are incredibly proud of the Children’s & Women’s Hospital and OB/GYN teams for bringing this maternal health outreach program to life,” said Natalie Fox, DNP, CEO of USA Health. “From developing the training video to overseeing the cart design and implementation, these dedicated employees have spent countless hours building a program that is already directly benefitting rural hospitals and women and newborns across southern Alabama.”
The idea for developing the rural maternity and neonatal carts came following the closures of several labor and delivery units in rural community hospitals in south Alabama. While the loss of OB/GYN services started decades ago, some rural units have closed more recently. Soon after the latest rural closures, providers and leadership from those hospitals began calling and asking about delivery protocols and policies from staff at Children’s & Women’s Hospital to help guide them in case they had to deliver a baby.
Those requests quickly turned into an action plan to further strengthen maternal health projects such as the carts, plus multiple training tools to go along with the supplies and medical equipment. Leaders from rural hospitals have been grateful for the support.
“The staff responsible for the OB cart and supplies have consistently been responsive, supportive and readily available whenever assistance is needed,” said Kim Meitzler, director of nursing at Jackson Medical Center in Jackson, Alabama. “Their prompt communication and willingness to help have been invaluable in maintaining our readiness for obstetrical emergencies.”
The maternal and newborn initiative has also been made possible through Rural Health Support funding USA Health receives from the state and support from the Alabama Department of Public Health.
One unique aspect of the program is a maternity and neonatal emergency training video that was developed by USA Health staff. Rural hospital workers can complete the training and receive continuing education credit at no cost as part of USA Health's education mission.
“The OB delivery cart and accompanying binder have also been extremely helpful in preparing deliveries,” Meitzler said. “Having all necessary supplies organized in one location ensures that staff can quickly access equipment and materials without wasting valuable time searching for items during delivery. The cart is very organized and easily accessible to all equipment needed for mom and baby. The layout promotes efficiency, improves readiness, and helps reduce stress during unexpected situations.”
In recent years, members of the women’s services division at USA Health also have initiated other projects such as the HERO4MOM program that helps mothers track their blood pressure following childbirth, when life-threatening complications can arise but go undetected without proper monitoring.
USA Health also operates three mobile clinics that expand access to healthcare in rural areas. In recent years, USA Health was awarded a $1.5 million grant from the state to purchase and maintain three vans for the rural initiatives. The vehicles have been outfitted with medical equipment, plus audio and visual capabilities to create mobile health units that will offer clinical and virtual care, along with community outreach, in areas where needs are the greatest throughout the region.
A goal of all USA Health outreach projects is to build a stronger foundation of support to help rural healthcare providers and hospitals broaden their reach to the residents they serve and to support specialty services not always available in those areas.
