The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) is partnering with Ariadne Labs to implement TeamBirth in all 54 birthing hospitals across the state thanks to a generous grant from Ballmer Group. The project aims to improve obstetric outcomes and reduce disparities for all birthing people and especially for those who experience structural racism and discrimination.
The TeamBirth program ensures people giving birth – and the clinicians caring for them – continually have shared input on decisions and a common understanding of the plan of care thanks to a team huddle at key decision points throughout the hospital stay. These huddles happen whenever the patient or a team member requests one, but are also expected upon admission to the hospital, when there is a change in the patient’s or fetus’ care plan, and when there is going to be a decision around delivery.
Implementation will take place over the next three years with hospitals participating in one of four cohorts. With each cohort, hospitals will create a shared planning board to capture the outcomes of each huddle, learn strategies to help patients identify their birth preferences, and collect patient reported experience measures to provide the hospitals with valuable quality improvement inputs.
“We are all thrilled to roll out the TeamBirth program across the state, and WSHA and our hospitals are grateful for the opportunity to work with such great partners to implement it,” WSHA President and CEO Cassie Sauer said. “Communication is so important in health care, and this program places a great emphasis on ensuring everyone on the care team is aligned for the best outcomes for the patient and their baby.”
About Ariadne Labs
Ariadne Labs is a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. With a mission to save lives and reduce suffering, our vision is that health systems equitably deliver the best possible care for every patient, everywhere, every time. We use implementation science and human-centered design to make health care more safe, equitable, and integrated. From developing checklists and conversation guides to fostering international collaborations and establishing global standards of measurement, our work has been accessed in more than 165 countries, touching hundreds of millions of lives. Visit ariadnelabs.org to learn more.
About Ballmer Group
Ballmer Group is committed to improving economic mobility for children and families in the United States, funding leaders and organizations that have demonstrated the ability to reshape opportunity and reduce systemic inequities. We focus on multiple impact areas and systems that can impact economic mobility – such as early learning, K-12 education, college and career pathways, housing, behavioral health, and criminal justice – and we support leaders and organizations that focus on undoing systemic racism and the barriers it has created. Ballmer Group is both a national and regional funder – we have a presence and invest deeply in southeast Michigan, Washington state, and Los Angeles County. Ballmer Group was co-founded by philanthropist Connie Ballmer and her husband Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, founder of USAFacts, and chairman of the Los Angeles Clippers. Learn more at www.ballmergroup.org.
