In this newsletter, we spotlight Raising the Bar for Maternal Health Equity and Excellence, a community-focused initiative led by the Quality Institute in New Jersey. Our Take Five features two hospital leaders — Alexandra Nelson of Capital Health and Kelly LaMonica of Penn Medicine Princeton Health — who are deeply engaged in this work, with strong support from their health systems. Please read their interviews below.

When the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation invited us to pilot Raising the Bar in New Jersey, we focused on two hospitals in Greater Mercer County to create regional impact. The initiative recognizes hospitals not only as health care providers, but also as employers, anchor institutions, and trusted community partners. Capital Health and Penn Medicine set aside any competitive concerns to collaborate on a common goal: ensuring that every person giving birth — regardless of race, ethnicity, or income — has the best possible experience and outcomes.

To pilot Raising the Bar in New Jersey, we focused on three core interventions:

Hospital Benchmarking Survey
To assess current strengths and areas for growth, our team conducted in-person interviews with hospital executives, frontline workers, maternal health clinicians, and former patients. We evaluated data on access, outcomes, quality, and patient experience; reviewed relevant policies; and facilitated a comprehensive self-assessment. Areas examined included clinical training, response to labor and postpartum emergencies, and support available for mental health and addiction. Data collection occurred in early 2024 and has been presented to the hospitals. The Benchmarking Survey tools we created are helping to guide the hospitals in their efforts throughout the pilot and beyond it.

Perinatal Community Advisory Boards (PCABs)
A defining element of the pilot is the creation of Perinatal Community Advisory Boards, which include community members who have recently given birth, doulas, area maternal care or social service providers, and faith-based leaders.

Each hospital created a PCAB, which meets regularly to share insights with hospital leadership and help inform maternal health hospital policies and services. Community members are compensated for their time, transportation, and childcare. The Quality Institute also provides leadership and advocacy training to support the community members’ participation. While patient and family advisory boards aren’t new, these specially focused boards are unique and, as you’ll read in the interviews, of great value to the hospitals as they strive to best engage the communities they serve.

Shared Decision-making Implementation
Both hospitals were also trained and adopted TeamBirth, a shared decision-making model now used by 26 hospitals and two birth centers in New Jersey. TeamBirth includes structured “huddles” — with active participation from the person giving birth. The model fosters better communication.

We are looking forward to sharing more about our Raising the Bar pilot at our NJ Maternal Action Plan (NJ-MAP) conference on September 10.  We’ll be sharing lessons learned and engaging on the work ahead. At the Quality Institute, we look forward to bringing these tools and activities to more New Jersey hospitals and communities. Anyone who wishes to learn more can reach out to me or anyone on our Raising the Bar team.