Priority: Increase Women’s Access to High Quality Healthcare
Performance Measure: Percent of women, ages 18 through 44, with a preventive medical visit in the past year.
Current Efforts
The Maternal Child Health team continued to work with partners at MaineCare to improve the process of auto-enrollment into additional coverage after Medicaid coverage expires postpartum. L.D. 265, An Act to Provide Women Access to Affordable Postpartum Care (up to 12 months) went into effect on August 1, 2022. Enrollment numbers will be monitored to determine the impact of the policy change.
Strategy: Maintain a training infrastructure for health care and community providers to promote high quality supportive services for women’s health.
Staffing changes within the Perinatal Outreach program necessitate this work continuing during FY23. Slight changes were made to the work plan as the new staff person endeavors to establish new relationships with the health care community.
This effort continued as part of the built-in philosophy of partnership and health care promotion in Maine. The annual Maternal and Child Health conference is scheduled for the fall of 2022. The primary focus of the conference will be on supporting healthy pregnancies both prenatal and postpartum to support healthier outcomes for infants, young children and families. There will also be an emphasis on substance exposed infants and maternal substance use disorders. Another focus woven throughout the conference is the need to recognize bias and stigma among the maternal and child health population.
Strategy: Increase annual well visit referrals among women through perinatal programs (WIC, Public Health Nursing, Family Planning and MIECHV).
A staffing turnover during the year delayed the activities to address this strategy. Public Health Nursing, WIC, Maine Families home visiting and Maine Family Planning continued to ensure referrals were made for individuals accessing their services including discussions on the need for a well woman health appointment.
FY23 Plan
Strategy: Statewide affordable health care services by promoting access to both clinical and at home health care services.
As part of the Early Childhood Comprehensive System (ECCS) workplan, a perinatal leadership group will be created for providers external to hospitals who provide perinatal services: i.e., OBGYNs, midwives.
Strategy: Maintain a training infrastructure for health care and community providers to promote high quality supportive services for women’s health.
We will continue to provide perinatal training services through a contract with Maine Medical Center.
We will continue our partnership with ECCS to create pathways to reach community providers and promote available resources.
Strategy: Maintain a training infrastructure for community partners to promote well-women visits with their program participants.
We will host the annual Maternal and Child Health Conference to ensure community providers from various disciplines have opportunities for training and networking with other providers.
Strategy: Increase annual well visit referrals among women through perinatal programs (WIC, Public Health Nursing, Family Planning and MIECHV).
We will continue our collaboration with WIC, PHN and Maine Families Home Visiting to ensure well-women visits are promoted as critical to a client’s health.
Priority: Improve Care for women’s mental health
Performance Measure (SPM): Percent of women who report that they were asked about depression in the 12 months before they become pregnant.
Strategy: Implement trainings and quality improvement initiatives on screening for depression
Due to staffing changes activities to address this strategy were not completed. A planned training series on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders was not offered due to presenter unavailability.
The initial patient safety bundle developed by the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders planned for FY22 was deferred. This patient safety bundle is classified as a supporting bundle and implementation will only be supported after implementation of a core AIM bundle. Maine is entering into year two of the core bundle with the intention of revisiting the Maternal Mental Health: Depression and Anxiety bundle as soon as is feasible.
Strategy: Promote comprehensive education on screening for depression
Planned activities to address this strategy are not underway, however, will be part of the perinatal leadership work at the community level.
FY23 Plan
Strategy: Promote comprehensive education on screening for depression
Activities related to this strategy will be completed with the perinatal leadership group for community providers.
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