Health
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – For the third year in a row, Adventist Health Clear Lake’s rate of low-risk caesarean births among first time pregnant women has beat the federal government’s Healthy People 2020 target.
Adventist Health Clear Lake was one of 111 California hospitals in 2018 to be awarded with a Smart Care Award for reducing C-sections.
“Our goal is to provide quality care that helps families grow and flourish,” said Colleen Assavapistkul, the hospital’s vice president of patient care. “As a mom myself, I am very proud that we are encouraging women with low risk to avoid unnecessary surgeries.”
Although cesarean, or C-section, births can be lifesaving when medically needed, national reports show that they are performed for other reasons in some hospitals.
The statistics around low-risk cesarean births prompted the federal government to set ambitious goals to reduce these types of procedures as part of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s Healthy People 2020 targets.
“The decline in California’s rate for low-risk, first birth C-sections will lead to healthier babies and mothers,” said California Health and Human Services Secretary Diana Dooley. “Thanks to the hospitals and their staff for their hard work in achieving this measurable progress.”
Adventist Health Clear Lake’s Women’s Care Unit staff is proud of how it collaborates with families, physicians, and the team providing prenatal and childbirth education services at Adventist Health Clear Lake Medical Offices throughout Lake County to avoid unnecessary C-sections.
“Childbirth is a natural process, and we work with mothers to optimize this amazing moment in their lives,” said Dr. Kimberly Fordham, family medicine and obstetric physician at the Adventist Health Clear Lake Medical Office in Middletown. “Sometimes cesareans are necessary for the mom and/or baby’s health, and we certainly intervene when needed, but our Women’s Care Unit staff and providers have many skills and tools to help most women deliver naturally.”
While life-saving in some circumstances, unnecessary C-sections can pose serious risks to mothers – higher rates of hemorrhage, transfusions, infection and blood clots – and babies, who can experience higher rates of infection, respiratory complications and neonatal intensive care unit stays.
Adventist Health Clear Lake’s Women’s Care Unit provides labor and delivery services to nearly 200 women and their infants each year. The unit is staffed by highly-trained doctors, Certified Nurse Midwives, experienced labor and delivery nurses and other professionals focused on providing the specialized care pregnant women and newborns need.
Growing families can learn more about Adventist Health Clear Lake’s family birth services, including childbirth education classes, at www.adventisthealthclearlake.org in the Services section.
Adventist Health Clear Lake was one of 111 California hospitals in 2018 to be awarded with a Smart Care Award for reducing C-sections.
“Our goal is to provide quality care that helps families grow and flourish,” said Colleen Assavapistkul, the hospital’s vice president of patient care. “As a mom myself, I am very proud that we are encouraging women with low risk to avoid unnecessary surgeries.”
Although cesarean, or C-section, births can be lifesaving when medically needed, national reports show that they are performed for other reasons in some hospitals.
The statistics around low-risk cesarean births prompted the federal government to set ambitious goals to reduce these types of procedures as part of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s Healthy People 2020 targets.
“The decline in California’s rate for low-risk, first birth C-sections will lead to healthier babies and mothers,” said California Health and Human Services Secretary Diana Dooley. “Thanks to the hospitals and their staff for their hard work in achieving this measurable progress.”
Adventist Health Clear Lake’s Women’s Care Unit staff is proud of how it collaborates with families, physicians, and the team providing prenatal and childbirth education services at Adventist Health Clear Lake Medical Offices throughout Lake County to avoid unnecessary C-sections.
“Childbirth is a natural process, and we work with mothers to optimize this amazing moment in their lives,” said Dr. Kimberly Fordham, family medicine and obstetric physician at the Adventist Health Clear Lake Medical Office in Middletown. “Sometimes cesareans are necessary for the mom and/or baby’s health, and we certainly intervene when needed, but our Women’s Care Unit staff and providers have many skills and tools to help most women deliver naturally.”
While life-saving in some circumstances, unnecessary C-sections can pose serious risks to mothers – higher rates of hemorrhage, transfusions, infection and blood clots – and babies, who can experience higher rates of infection, respiratory complications and neonatal intensive care unit stays.
Adventist Health Clear Lake’s Women’s Care Unit provides labor and delivery services to nearly 200 women and their infants each year. The unit is staffed by highly-trained doctors, Certified Nurse Midwives, experienced labor and delivery nurses and other professionals focused on providing the specialized care pregnant women and newborns need.
Growing families can learn more about Adventist Health Clear Lake’s family birth services, including childbirth education classes, at www.adventisthealthclearlake.org in the Services section.
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- Written by: Editor
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sutter Lakeside Hospital celebrated Patient Safety Awareness Week this week, a time to remind hospital staff and leaders that everyone is a patient.
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement developed Patient Safety Awareness Week to dedicate time and a platform to increase awareness about patient safety among health professionals and the public, according to their website.
“The only difference between us and our patients is a matter of circumstance,” said Dan Peterson, Chief Administrative Officer, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “Patient Safety Awareness Week serves as a reminder that our patients are our neighbors, friends, coworkers and family. It’s our duty to continue putting patient safety at the forefront of care.”
Members of the management team wore hospital gowns and carried “I’m a patient too!” signs throughout the day Thursday as a way to spark discussion about patient safety with staff.
“We recognize the importance of providing safe care, and believe that a culture of safety begins with leadership,” said Peterson. “We encourage staff to speak up when they feel uncomfortable, and challenge the idea that authority exists in a hierarchy. Caring for patients safely is everyone’s responsibility.”
Safety initiatives range from training staff on communicating concerns to using bed alarms to alert nurses when a patient needs help. Metrics such as sepsis mortality rates, hospital-acquired infection rates, pressure ulcer counts and hand washing audits track the quality of care as it relates to patient safety.
“Quality metrics are determined by Sutter Health in accordance with the Joint Commission and federal regulations,” said Peterson. “Sutter Lakeside is graded on those metrics, and we have achieved full performance for over 36 consecutive months.”
Sarah Krevans, president and CEO of Sutter Health, recently recognized Sutter Lakeside as a top hospital in the system for quality and service in 2017 by awarding two presidential dashboard awards. The system award joins a list of recent accolades, such as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ four star rating of the hospital’s quality metrics.
“We’re incredibly proud of our team’s achievements,” said Peterson. “Ultimately, it means that we’re taking great care of our patients.”
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- Written by: Editor
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