26 hospitals in Tennessee help state achieve State of Excellence in Education and Training award for neonatal abstinence syndrome
PARIS, TN – Vermont Oxford Network (VON) has awarded a “Center of Excellence in Education and Training for Infants and Families Affected by Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome” designation to Henry County Medical Center.
The award recognizes that at least 85 percent of the multidisciplinary care teams participating in “Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Collaborative: Improving Care to Improve Outcomes” completed universal training for care of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).
Neonatal abstinence syndrome is drug withdrawal syndrome experienced by infants exposed to opioids while in utero. Infants born with NAS are more likely to have respiratory complications, feeding difficulty, low birthweights, and extended hospital stays.
The Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care (TIPQC) partnered with VON to provide 30 hospitals in the state universal training designed to standardize care policies. The collaborative approach to universal training included rapid-cycle distribution of current evidence-based practices to the entire interdisciplinary workforce engaged in caring for substance-exposed infants and families. This approach has been proven to reduce length of hospital stay and length of pharmacologic treatment while increasing family satisfaction. Henry County Medical Center is one of the 26 hospitals in the state that achieved the excellence designation from VON and contributed to the second statewide recognition of excellence in education and training that VON has awarded.
“Congratulations to all the care teams across the state of Tennessee who have shown how dedicated the state is to caring for this vulnerable population affected by the national opioid epidemic,” said Jeffrey Horbar, Chief Executive and Scientific Officer of VON.
“With increasing incidents of newborns being exposed to opiates, it is imperative for healthcare providers to become educated in how to not only treat the medical issues that result, but help the family receive compassionate education and treatment for the core problem,” said Rhonda Crossett, Director of HCMC Women’s Center. “This program provided our nurses with skills to do both. We are grateful for the opportunity grow in our abilities to care for our community.”
“We are excited to continue our advancements in quality and service to our community,: said Lisa Casteel, CEO at HCMC. “Congratulations to Rhonda and her team for completing and implementing this program.”
As a global leader in data-driven quality improvement for newborn care, VON leads multi-center quality improvement collaboratives and provides resources to help interdisciplinary teams improve on the most critical and complex challenges facing newborn caregivers. While more than 250 centers nationwide have completed VON’s universal training for NAS, Tennessee is only the third statewide collaborative to achieve the Excellence in Education and Training distinction.
The HCMC Women’s Center is state-of-the-art in the birthing experience. From pre-natal to post-natal, we will meet your needs:
- Individual labor support
- Breastfeeding support
- Infant security
- Centralized monitoring of mother in labor
- Private birthing/after births rooms and Jacuzzi-tubs
- Special gifts and baby billboard announcement
- Family friendly environment
- After surgery care
The Women’s Center also offers gynecological surgery post-op care to women. And, HCMC now offers a Special Care Nursery and neonatology services through Ped For All.
For more information on our services as well as the OB/GYNs at HCMC, check out our website at www.hcmc-tn.org or call us at 731-644-3463. You can also learn more about the Center of Excellence on this Facebook Live video: https://www.facebook.com/HCMCParisTN/videos/423112092516503
About Vermont Oxford Network
Vermont Oxford Network (VON) is a worldwide community of health care professionals dedicated to improving the quality, safety, and value of care for newborn infants and their families through a coordinated program of data-driven quality improvement, education, and research. Members use confidential information from the world’s largest and most comprehensive databases of infant data to benchmark their practices and outcomes and identify areas for improvement. Teams from around the world address critical and complex challenges of newborn care with evidence-based quality improvement methods guided by VON expert faculty and resources. www.vtoxford.org.
About HCMC
Located in Paris, TN, Henry County Medical Center is a progressive, integrated healthcare organization committed to serving the healthcare needs of Henry County and the adjoining region. Including a 142-bed hospital and other facilities, the medical center provides a variety of outpatient services, as well as inpatient care. Additionally, HCMC owns and operates 7 provider clinics in various specialties. Henry County Medical Center is a county-owned and operated nonprofit institution. For more information: www.hcmc-tn.org