November 13, 2024

Laura Kusisto, a Washing Street Journal reporter, found herself back in the hospital after battling a life-threatening infection. Her experience shows the gaps in U.S. postpartum healthcare, doctors say. Read her story in an open source Wall Street Journal article.

I Gave Birth. The Most Dangerous Part Came After

Help Choose the PQCNC 2026 Initiative

We held our PQCNC Annual Meeting on October 28th at the McKimmon Center. We heard from awesome speakers and proceeded to review 9 proposed initiatives for next PQCNC projects. The presentations were outstanding and prompted incredible discussion.

So, now it's your turn.

Click here to find the presentations submitted for consideration. 

Review them and then follow the link on that page to indicate which of these projects you would be interested in working on and help us move closer to determining the next PQCNC Initiative

No MLR due this month

Please submit the final Sepsis in Obstetric Care Snapshot

Snapshot form here

Link to submit here

Form and link on the PQCNC website - here

Please plan to complete by November 30th - thanks!

Cardiac Conditions in Obstetric Care Initiative now enrolling teams...

We are excited to announce that the Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina (PQCNC) is ready to enroll teams for Cardiac Conditions in Obstetric Care. This new initiative will launch at our January 2025 Kick-Off Day (registration information to follow). 

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity in pregnancy and the first year postpartum.​(1)​ The maternal mortality rate in North Carolina from 2018-2022 was 26.7 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is higher than the national rate.​(2​) The North Carolina Maternal Mortality Review Committee found that cardiovascular conditions were the third leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in 2018-2019.​(3)​ Some studies have shown that nearly a third of maternal cardiac deaths were potentially preventable.​(4​) 

We want to partner with you and your hospital to address the challenge of maternal cardiac care in North Carolina. Join us at PQCNC in 2025 to support the implementation of evidence-based measures to improve recognition and treatment of maternal cardiac conditions and to implement systems for appropriate escalation of care in North Carolina. 

Join us as we continue the mission to make North Carolina the best place to give birth and be born! 

References 

​​1. Creanga AA, Berg CJ, Syverson C, Seed K, Bruce FC, Callaghan WM. Pregnancy-related mortality in the United States, 2006-2010. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2015;125(1):5-12. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000000564 

​2. National Center for Health Statistics. Maternal Deaths and Mortality Rates by State, 2018-2022.; 2022. Accessed October 9, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/maternal-mortality/mmr-2018-2022-state-data.pdf 

​3. Division of Public Health. North Carolina 2018-2019 Maternal Mortality Review Report.; 2024. Accessed October 9, 2024. https://wicws.dph.ncdhhs.gov/docs/MMRCReport.pdf 

​4. Hollier LM, Martin JN, Connolly H, et al. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 212: Pregnancy and Heart Disease. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2019;133(5):e320-e356. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000003243​ 

Sepsis Primary Contact Update

As we announced during the May Learning Session, Clinical Initiative Manager Elizabeth Balskus is leaving the PQCNC team. Starting July 1st, Keith Cochran will be the primary point of contact for the Sepsis in Obstetric Care Initiative. Moving forward, please send Monthly Leadership Reports to qiadvisor@pqcnc.org