When a large healthcare system in Florida opened a new hospital in 2010 and launched their women’s services department the following year, leadership wanted to set the bar high from inception. As the standard of care for birthing hospitals across the country, implementing an OB hospitalist program would be key. They partnered with Ob Hospitalist Group (OBHG) from day one to accomplish their goals.
Nine years later, the director of patient services (DPS) can’t imagine a labor and delivery unit without an OBHG hospitalist presence. As the manager of nursing and clinical care for inpatient units, she sees the benefits of the partnership every day. The OBHG hospitalists aren’t simply there to work shifts, they are part of the greater hospital team and are involved in the hospital’s initiatives.
The OBHG team holds debrief meetings twice per day, running through every OB patient’s status. The goal of this is to ensure all hospitalists and nurses are on the same page. Additionally, the OBHG team participates in OB drills and biannual training with the nursing team. This close partnership ensures that the department runs smoothly.
“We are doing this in order to keep things safe in our department. The hospitalists are willing to do this and be there consistently – every single day, twice a day. It’s another level of oversight they are helping us with.”
The OBHG team also collaborates with the private OB/GYN group that delivers at the hospital, serving as first assist in the operating room. When they aren’t working together to safely deliver babies, OBHG hospitalists and private-practice OB/GYNs collaborate on joint initiatives, including the Promoting Primary Vaginal Deliveries (PROVIDE) Initiative through the Florida Prenatal Quality Collaborative (FPQC), which focuses on lowering C-section rates across the state.
The collaboration between OBHG and private-practice OB/GYNs has paid off. With a C-section rate of 30.4%, Florida had the highest rate nationally in 2018. In 2019, the OBHG hospitalist team at this location had a primary C-section rate of 19.1%.
The team’s collaboration on specific initiatives demonstrates their dedication to elevating patient quality and safety. Nurses and physicians are empowered to voice patient care concerns so they may stop any safety issues before they reach the patient. This helps to improve quality outcomes.
As a small facility with limited resources, having the OBHG physician available for emergent situations is imperative for safe, positive outcomes.”
Hospital staff and private OB/GYNs are not the only ones reaping the benefits of this partnership. OBHG physicians have adopted the “Commit to Sit” where they take the time to sit down and talk to each patient. This approach has led to consistently high patient satisfaction scores with OBHG physicians typically receiving scores in the 99th percentile on patient discharge surveys.
This hospital has never operated without OBHG support. Hospital leadership recognizes that without OBHG’s support they would lack physician services for their unassigned population, see increased burnout among local OB/GYNs, and struggle adopting new practices.
The department would also miss out on the general peace of mind hospitalists can provide.
“The OBHG physicians provide a sense of security to the team as they provide quick expertise around the clock.”