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Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative

Postpartum Access & Continuity of Care (PACC)

Postpartum Access & Continuity of Care

Did you know?

  • It is estimated that as many as 40% of new mothers do not see a provider for recommended postpartum follow-up care
  • The days and weeks following birth are a critical intervention period to set the stage for women and their infants for both short and long-term health
  • New mothers after discharge are now accounting for 40-50% of all pregnancy-related deaths; 75% of these deaths occurred within 60 days after giving birth
  • ACOG recommends women have a visit or encounter with their provider within the first 3 weeks of giving birth

Stakeholders across Florida and the U.S. have taken note of the importance of postpartum care, including its impact on morbidity, mortality, and health care costs.

The PACC Initiative’s purpose is to work with providers, hospitals, and other stakeholders to improve maternal health through hospital facilitated continuum of postpartum care by arranging and providing respectful, timely, and risk-appropriate, coordinated care and services.

PACC Patient Saves Spotlight with spotlights

NEW RESOURCE! PACC Patient Saves Spotlight

Hospitals are seeing a difference in patient outcomes through their work with the PACC Initiative. Hospitals are proud of this work and have given us permission to share the following stories.

NEW RESOURCE! PACC Patient Saves Spotlight
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Postpartum Discharge and Florida's Pregnancy-Related Deaths

Florida’s pregnancy-related mortality rate is again slowly increasing after a multiyear decrease. Pregnancy-related deaths are deaths of women during pregnancy and up to 1 year afterward due to pregnancy complications or conditions. Are these deaths preventable? View this one-pager to learn more.

Postpartum Discharge and Florida's Pregnancy-Related Deaths

PACC News

Preventing Maternal Mortality - Training for Hospital Emergency Departments Webinar

The Florida Hospital Association, Florida College of Emergency Physicians, and FPQC hosted a call on June 7, 2023. Participants learned about the tools and resources available for hospital emergency departments to adopt to reduce maternal mortality in Florida. The slides and recording of the call are below.

The Postpartum Care and Health Literacy Module is Now Live! CEUs Available

FPQC is pleased to offer to PACC hospitals this self-service Postpartum Care and Health Literacy Module to help train your staff on health literacy and improve the postpartum care you provide to patients. The module will require you to set up a free account with Baptist Health South Florida - Continuing Medical Education. Use key word — Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative: Postpartum Care and Health Literacy — to find course. Upon completion, transcripts and certificates will be available for download. Continuing education credits are available for physicians, nurse practitioners, and registered nurses.

Featured PACC Resource for Florida ERs

FPQC and PACC partners have designed a new web resource and poster for ER providers. Visit www.fpqc.org/pregnant for information on common postpartum diagnoses and their management. We have also created a downloadable poster and a handout with QR codes that will take you to each diagnosis page; as well as a downloadable/printable Postpartum Conditions Management Guide. We hope you find these to be helpful in enhancing care for postpartum women!

Recent Florida State Statute Requiring FPQC Participation

A new state statute requires participation by maternity units in at least two FPQC initiatives. On August 23, 2022, FPQC hosted a webinar where we shared information with hospital teams about opportunities for participation. PACC participation contributes to the fulfillment of this requirement.