PQI Innovation Webinar: Integrating Community and Hospital Care: Lessons from Step Up Together in MA

The main objectives of the webinar are:

1) Describe the design and outcomes of a state-wide effort to engage hospitals, EMS, community midwives, and doulas in a collaboration to test emergency transfer processes.
2) Identify key quality and safety opportunities for hospitals when integrating with community birth providers, including communication systems, admitting workflows, and EMS coordination.
3) Apply practical strategies from the Massachusetts implementation sprint to strengthen interdisciplinary teamwork, respectful care, and system reliability in their own perinatal QI initiatives.

About the Speakers:

Amy Romano, MBA, MSN, CNM, FACNM

Amy Romano, MBA, MSN, CNM, FACNM is a maternity care leader specializing in care model innovation, community-integrated care, and quality improvement. She leads a team of consultants at Primary Maternity Care and founded and scaled the Step Up Together program to advance perinatal safety and equity, no matter the setting. With a clinical background as a nurse and midwife, Amy is an expert in midwife-led and team-based care models, as well as the implementation of clinical and wellness programs. A prolific author and speaker on maternity care reform, Amy has developed nationally recognized quality improvement programs in collaboration with organizations such as the American Association of Birth Centers, the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology, and the Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement.

Leila Forman, CNM

Leila Forman is a Certified Nurse Midwife who graduated from Yale School of Nursing in 2008, and has been working in full scope midwifery at Mount Auburn Hospital ever since. Leila helps lead the OB simulation team, sits on several clinical committees and enjoys teaches midwifery students. Leila is passionate about teaching the next generation of midwives and ensuring that more and more birthing people have access to excellent midwifery care. Leila lives in Arlington, MA with her husband and two children, both born into the hands of midwives. In her spare time, she enjoys watching her kids play sports, weight lifting, cycling and traveling with her family. Recently, she has been able to combine her passion for teaching and travel and had the opportunity to teach Master's level midwifery students in Uganda. Leila hopes to continue to do more intermittent international work while remaining full time at her home at Mount Auburn.

Rebecca Skye Herman, CPM, MPH, NHCM

Rebecca Skye is the state Director for Community Birth Integration through the MA DPH-funded program at EDC. A midwife and public health specialist who brings more than 20 years of experience advancing reproductive health and rights around the world, Rebecca has worked throughout the United States, Central and Eastern Africa, and South Asia. Rebecca also serves as the current Chair of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Midwifery and has provided home-based midwifery care to the communities of eastern Massachusetts and Seacoast New Hampshire since 2009.

Rebecca holds degrees from the National College of Midwifery, Boston University School of Public Health, Tufts University, and is a Master Trainer in the World Health Organization’s package to strengthen health sector response to violence against women. Rebecca has been a NARM certified preceptor since 2021 and has trained midwives in Senegal, Nigeria, Tanzania, Pakistan, and the USA.

To learn more about Rebecca Skye and Global Skye Midwifery & Consulting visit www.globalskye.org.

For more information and to sign up for future webinars please visit https://www.perinatalqi.org/. We can also be reached at [email protected].

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