An innovative approach to studying and improving the experience of postpartum mothers and families in Kansas.
The Kansas Perinatal Quality Collaborative (KPQC) partnered with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to launch a maternal health quality initiative aimed at decreasing maternal morbidity and mortality in our state. A review of Kansas maternal deaths determined that the majority of deaths occur between the time immediately after birth and the end of the first year. Additionally, the first year after birth presents many physical and emotional changes for the mother, baby, and family.
Data from KDHE Vital Statistics, as well as the Kansas Maternal Mortality Review Committee, demonstrated that focused evaluation and intentional intervention in the postpartum period should be the primary goal to improve maternal health outcomes. The Fourth Trimester Initiative is an innovative, cutting-edge approach to studying and improving the experience of our mothers and families in Kansas. KDHE and KPQC announced this important state initiative on July 20, 2020.
The Fourth Trimester Initiative engages and empowers patients – as well as their families, support systems, providers, and Kansas communities – to intentionally intervene and improve maternal health outcomes with a collective, inspired effort.
Contact us for information on enrollment:
To decrease maternal morbidity and mortality in Kansas, we will:
Birth facilities that wish to participate in the statewide effort to decrease maternal morbidity and mortality can enroll in KPQC’s Fourth Trimester Initiative (FTI). To improve health outcomes at local and state levels, enrolled birth facilities receive, at no cost, directional coaching and support for their involvement in this timely and necessary quality improvement project. These facilities also receive free resources, training, and constant access to collaboration with maternal health leaders across Kansas. This comprehensive and vast improvement in postpartum healthcare will lead to healthier women, infants and families in our communities across the state.
To aid in the FTI, in fall 2021, Kansas enrolled in the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) program’s Postpartum Discharge Transition patient safety bundle. Kansas will participate in AIM through fall 2023, with potential opportunities to extend past that date. Becoming an AIM state connects the KPQC with other PQCs across the nation for sharing of ideas and learning opportunities to expand the work. AIM also offers a data center that will allow the KPQC to track performance measures and offers a comparison to the other PQCs enrolled.
To learn more about the Fourth Trimester Initiative, download our latest Facts Sheet on the Resources page.
KDHE-Bureau of Family Health, 1000 SW Jackson, Suite 220, Topeka, KS 66612 • (785) 296-1205
KDHE-Bureau of Family Health, 1000 SW Jackson, Suite 220, Topeka, KS 66612
(785) 296-1205
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