East Jefferson General Hospital has attained multiple designations that distinguish it as a top healthcare facility to give birth and receive high-quality care before and after a baby is born.
The hospital has the Birth Ready+ designation from the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative, an achievement made possible by the staff’s ongoing commitment to continuous enhancements in areas such as collaborative learning, patient partnerships, policies and procedures, structures and education, and outcome and process measures.
“We have monthly calls with the state and participating hospitals to look at best practices and make sure we find the best evidence-based care,” said Paula Adamcewicz, director of woman and child services at East Jefferson. “It’s all about continual process improvements, as well as some equity projects. We’re able to funnel that information to our front-line staff to make sure we are giving our moms the best care that we can. The process is ongoing and very intense. The state makes you earn it, so we are really proud to have the highest possible designation.”
In addition, East Jefferson has earned the Bronze designation through the Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification program. The recognition is given to hospitals across the country that model and teach infant safe sleep practices according to nationally-recognized best practices to reduce the risk of sudden infant death, unsafe sleep injuries and other dangers such as choking and suffocation.
The hospital also has successfully completed the process through the national nonprofit Baby-Friendly USA to designate itself as a Baby-Friendly hospital, meaning a third party has confirmed that it provides evidence-based care based on best practices, particularly in the area of infant feeding. To earn this designation, East Jefferson has successfully finished all four phases of a pathway, implemented guidelines and evaluation criteria and passed an on-site assessment. The designation is only given to hospitals who have had their policies, curriculum, action plans, staff training and quality improvement projects reviewed and verified.
“I think these designations are a testament to the people that are providing the care,” said Dr. Joshua Wells, an OB/GYN at East Jefferson. “Everyone here, from the labor and delivery team, NICU team to the lactation consultants to the postpartum team and everyone in between, are all fantastic. The nurses are usually the ones who are with the patients most frequently and they work incredibly hard to make sure each patient has a great experience. It’s the people here who allow us to have great systems in place and provide great care to our moms.”
Delivering a baby at a hospital like East Jefferson has numerous benefits, including access to advanced medical technology and expert physicians, pain management options, support for high-risk pregnancies and continual monitoring of both the mother and baby’s health.
In order to provide a complete continuum of care for moms and babies, East Jefferson General Hospital also provides numerous educational services before and after birth. Prenatal classes focus on topics such as body changes to expect during pregnancy, signs and stages of labor, when to go to the hospital, postpartum emotions, breastfeeding and infant nutrition, the basics of bathing, diapering and swaddling; car seat safety, infant CPR and more.
“The classes are free to the community and open to anyone,” Adamcewicz said. “It’s invaluable to have that one-on-one time with nurses and going through your questions. We know that a parent who is educated on these topics is more likely to have better outcomes. The breastfeeding classes in particular have gotten great feedback. In addition to those classes, we have international board-certified lactation consultants here seven days a week offering personalized bedside support, plus a phone number they can call and leave a message if they have questions or want an outpatient consultation.”
Aside from breastfeeding, Dr. Wells said other common questions from moms-to-be or new moms center around medications they are taking, whether over-the-counter or prescription, as well as maintaining proper nutrition during pregnancy and postpartum birth control once their baby is born.
“Pregnancy in general is very fluid, so that’s why coming to regular appointments and asking these questions is so important,” Dr. Wells said. “Our goal is for happy and healthy moms to leave here with happy and healthy babies.”
East Jefferson General Hospital offers an individualized approach to birth preparation, labor, delivery and postpartum care. The hospital’s Emergency Obstetrician program ensures that physicians trained in obstetrics and gynecology are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in a collaborative care model that focuses on safe and healthy deliveries. For more information on services, to schedule an appointment or to sign up for classes, visit www.lcmchealth.org/east-jefferson-general-hospital/our-services/womens-health/.
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