Watts Healthcare Corporation - Babies Natural Start
(September 1, 2010 - August 31, 2011)
Watts Healthcare Corporation received a federal allocation to improve breastfeeding among African American women living in the Watts-Willowbrook neighborhoods. In South Los Angeles, the Watts Healthcare Corporation reports exclusive breastfeeding among 4.9% of clients participating in the Womens Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition education and supplemental food program.
LA Best Babies Network is working in partnership with Watts Healthcare Corporation and the Breastfeeding Taskforce of Greater Los Angeles to apply a quality framework to improve the systems of care to promote and support exclusive breastfeeding. This improvement project will require bringing together decision makers, advocates, and staff from the Departments of Obstetric, Pediatrics, WIC, and Information Technology for training about breastfeeding and quality improvement methods. LA Best Babies Network leads the quality improvement training, provides the change package, measures, and methods for data collection and reporting as well as providing ongoing, onsite coaching for the improvement work.
Kaiser – Quality Improvement in Perinatal Care to Reduce Disparities
(October 1, 2010 - September 30, 2011)
This project focuses on key clinical areas of postpartum care including: follow-up for women with gestational diabetes, breastfeeding, and maternal weight management. With the vast majority of women accessing healthcare during pregnancy, maintaining this connection to the healthcare system in the postpartum period and beyond (i.e. interconception care) will provide benefits to large numbers of women in LA County.
Three organizations from the medically underserved areas in downtown LA, South LA, and East LA are particpating in this project. Collectively they provide care to between 1,600 and 1,700 women per year. The aims of this project are to:
- Increase return for six weeks postpartum visit by 20% above baseline;
- Increase postpartum diabetes screening by 25% above baseline by 6-8 weeks postpartum for those who had gestational diabetes, so as to identify and treat those with type 2 diabetes interconceptionally;
- Increase exclusive breastfeeding at 1 week postpartum by 25% above baseline; and
- Ensure 20% of interconception mothers with BMIs of >25 decrease their weight by 10% over 6 months.
