Mothers in the Foothills can be assured that their babies are being born into good hands.
The High River Hospital’s maternity program received an international award for its effective teamwork, communication and patient safety levels.
The MORE (Managing Obstetrical Risks Efficiently) OB Recognition Award is handed out to hospitals each year across North America who follow the MORE program and demonstrate a number of objectives outlined in the program.
MD of Foothills resident Leanne Ully gave birth to each of her four children over the last nine years at the hospital and said each time staff delivered a great experience.
“It was a very positive experience with all four of them,” she said. “That’s why after the first one I knew I wanted to come back here. Actually after my first, I was a nurse and I worked here. I worked in the maternity unit.”
She said the staff was attentive and allowed her to personalize each experience.
“I think it's very individualized and family centered,” Ully explained. “You’re given choices and allowed to make choices about the care you receive. With (five-month-old Violet) I had a water birth. And they were very supportive of natural un-medicated birth, which was very important to me. All the staff and the midwives and the doctors were wonderful.”
Liz DeMaere, manager of program delivery with Salus Global Corporation, which developed the MORE OB program, said the team at High River Hospital have been following the program for 10 years and this year have worked extra hard to commit to it.
“They’re looking at all kinds of ways they can improve the quality of care that mothers and babies get in this community,” she said. “It's really about making change and improvement and focusing on patient safety and over the years this team has actually improved their culture of patient safety as well as their quality of care that they provide.”
The High River co-chairs of the program nurse Sharon Dalrymple and Dr. Shauna Mercer said the MORE program allows everyone to be on the same page.
“It tells us what's best practice,so we try our best to stick to that because that's the research right?” Dalrymple said. “And the other part is that we try to be as consistent as we can among us on all of the things that happen in obstetrics as well.”
Mercer explained that even though there are a variety of players in the 45-member maternity team, the training allows them to work together seamlessly.
“If we're in the middle of some sort of emergency, we've done the emergency simulations together, we've read the same chapters, so even though out backgrounds as nurses and physicians and midwives are very different, we all have this in common,” Mercer said. “We're one of only two maternity groups in Alberta that have physicians and midwives working together.”
There are more than 400 babies born each year at the hospital.
“We’re just so proud of the group because we always want to make the birth experience as comfortable, but of course as safe as possible, for our patients,” she said. “And getting this kind of recognition which is all about patient safety and making sure that patients are well informed and that everything is being done that should be done…we're just excited that we've all come together and done what it takes to get there.”
