Risk Reduction

“We are not doing well as a region and as a nation in preventing complications and deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth – we need to do better,” said Trevor Quiner, MD, co-medical director of the Improving Perinatal Health program. “We need to work together to provide all members of the team who care for pregnant people with the tools they need to succeed.”

The program focuses on helping providers implement “perinatal safety bundles,” which serve as roadmaps for improving care. The educational toolkits share resources, including emergency-treatment protocols, training materials, checklists and guidelines for quality improvement.

Health care providers, including physicians, midwives, doulas, pharmacists, community health workers and other health workers, are invited to attend this no-cost virtual learning community from May until December 2022.

Project ECHO began the program in 2019 to address a growing need in rural areas of the Southwest. In 2021, 158 doctors and 460 nurses participated, along with pharmacists, social workers and physician assistants.

The Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company committed to financially supporting the program through 2022, with an expanded reach into west Texas and eastern Arizona.

The program will use the ECHO Model, a tele-mentoring methodology created in 2003 to share expert knowledge. ECHO empowers practitioners and professionals from rural and underserved areas to promote equity and improve the well-being of people where they live by gaining expertise in health care, education and other areas and helping to build local capacity and stronger communities.

Learn more and register for the Improving Perinatal Health ECHO program.

About The New Mexico Perinatal Collaborative

The New Mexico Perinatal Collaborative is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary coalition of stakeholders seeking to improve the health of New Mexico’s women, infants and birthing families through the identification and sharing of best practices with perinatal care providers and hospitals statewide.

They partner with diverse perinatal care providers from all areas of the state, including physicians, midwives, nurses, advanced practice clinicians, pharmacists, doulas, lactation consultants, home visitors, community health workers and clinical administrators to improve birth and reproductive health outcomes.

They represent New Mexico within the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health and collaborate with state agency, health system and community partners to leverage data to improve maternal and infant outcomes statewide.

About The Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health

The Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) is a national data-driven maternal safety and quality improvement initiative. Based on proven safety and quality implementation strategies, AIM works to reduce preventable maternal mortality and severe morbidity across the United States.

About Project ECHO

Project ECHO’s virtual mentoring model is being used to tackle the world’s greatest challenges in health care, education and more. Founded in 2003, Project ECHO is headquartered at The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque, N.M., and is empowering local community providers to improve the well-being of people in New Mexico around the world. Learn more about our mission to touch 1 billion lives by 2025.