Ascension St. Joseph Women’s Outpatient Center Wins Global Vision Award for Advancing Maternal Care

The Women's Outpatient Center (WOC) at Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - St. Joseph Campus received the 2024 Global Vision Community Partnership Award from the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) which honors members who successfully address a documented community health need. The WOC was honored for not only providing a wide range of obstetric and gynecological services, but for focusing significant efforts on addressing social determinants of health, community engagement and enhancing access to care. Serving nearly 1,000 women and delivering 700 babies yearly, the WOC provides healthcare, health education and nationally recognized outpatient services to uninsured and underinsured women.

One of Ascension's most effective initiatives, the Maternal Health Social System Initiative (MHSSI) was piloted at the WOC in 2019 and has resulted in improved maternal health outcomes. The MHSSI focuses on geographic areas where pregnant women are at greatest risk for poor health outcomes.

As a part of this initiative, maternal health navigators are embedded in the WOC. These dedicated healthcare professionals listen and respond to the nonclinical needs of their patients, walking alongside them to ensure they make it to appointments - no matter what barriers they may encounter. They do this because they know the more prenatal appointments these vulnerable moms can make, the better their outcomes will be. In the past five years, nearly 1,000 high-risk mothers were identified, and 85% delivered full-term babies-a 17% improvement.

Specialized services at the WOC include:

• Early Access to Care, including walk-in pregnancy testing, and educational/new patient appointment with a provider within one week.
• Stork's Nest, a program designed to promote prenatal care and encourage healthy behaviors. Stork's Nest clients earn points toward incentives such as maternity or baby care items through a variety of activities, including attending prenatal visits, participating in prenatal education classes, receiving recommended vaccinations and reducing risk behaviors.
• Baby Safe Sleep Program, educates parents about safe sleeping and provides free portable cribs to families in need.

• Car Seat Safety Initiative, participants receive a free car seat after learning how to install and use infant car seats properly.
• Prenatal Care Coordination (PNCC) provides access to additional support to high risk moms, 1:1 case management provided by social workers with specialized training. The program includes outreach, assessment, care plan development, ongoing care coordination and monitoring, health education and nutrition counseling. Referral to outside agencies for additional support.

• Condition Specific Food Initiative provides healthy food options for pregnant persons diagnosed with anemia and gestational diabetes to educate and encourage healthy choices.

• Home blood pressure monitoring program supplies pregnant persons diagnosed with hypertension with a blood pressure cuff to monitor and report blood pressures from the comfort of home without needing to schedule an additional appointment.

• First Breath Smoking Cessation Program creates individualized smoking cessation plans for expectant mothers, including post-pregnancy follow-up and support.
• Child Care: The WOC provides supervised child care during medical appointments, effectively eliminating a major barrier that prevents many mothers from accessing healthcare.

With Black women in the U.S. nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their White counterparts, Ascension is focusing its efforts on reaching those most in need. Nearly half of all deliveries at Ascension were to mothers from medium-high and high social vulnerability index regions, with a disproportionate number being Black. In an environment with high medical and socioeconomic needs, the WOC's efforts consistently produce outcomes surpassing national averages, demonstrating its commitment to maternal and infant health.