Franciscan Health Recognized For Excellence In Infant And Maternal Health

MISHAWAKA, Indiana - Five Franciscan Health hospitals in Indiana have been recognized by the Indiana Hospital Association (IHA), in partnership with Gov. Eric J. Holcomb and State Health Commissioner Kris Box, MD, for their commitment to infant and maternal health through the INspire Hospital of Distinction recognition program.

The recognition was announced Thursday at the IHA Labor of Love Summit in Indianapolis.

INspire, funded by the Indiana Department of Health's Safety PIN grant, was developed to implement the delivery of best practice care for Hoosier moms and babies and recognize hospitals for excellence in addressing key drivers of infant and maternal health. 

Franciscan Health hospitals Indianapolis, Crown Point, Lafayette East, Michigan City and Mooresville earned the designation based on implementing best practices in six key areas, including infant safe sleep, breastfeeding, tobacco prevention and cessation, perinatal substance use, obstetric hemorrhage, and maternal hypertension.

"We are honored to receive this recognition as it demonstrates our Indianapolis and Mooresville hospitals commitment to provide high-level, compassionate and safe care to the babies and mothers we are privileged to serve," said Angela Bratina, MSN, RN, director of Franciscan's Family Birth Centers in Central Indiana. "This recognition attests to the professionalism and dedication of our clinical and support staff."

Patricia DeStefano, manager of the Franciscan Health Michigan City Family Birth Center, said the Franciscan Health Michigan City has made a commitment, "to positively impact maternal and infant mobibity/mortality."

"We are grateful to the state, Governor Holcomb and Dr. Kristina Box for setting the bar high and challenging us to do our best work," DeStefano said. "The reward will be when we see the numbers move in a positive direction. We want the women and children of our community to be thriving and a lower infant mortality rate means the health of our community is improving."

Marcia Cherry, MSN, RN, director of Franciscan's Family Birth Center in Western Indiana said Franciscan Health Lafayette East, "is fortunate to have dedicated professional staff across systems of care who work as a cohesive team."

"The work of this team has resulted in increased collaboration between the ambulatory and hospital multidisciplinary team," Cherry said. "We are thankful to each team member for their dedicated work to provide this level of excellence for our community."

Carrie Renschen, MSN, RNC-NIC, director of the Family Birth Center and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Franciscan Health Crown Point, said the staff strives to improve the care they provide to mothers and newborns year over year. 

"The INspire award demonstrates our commitment to excellence and quality improvement initiatives," Renschen said. "IHA continues to raise the bar for hospitals and we are proud that our team has exceeded the expectations for three years straight. We look forward to learning what areas of excellence IHA determines for the coming year."

Preliminary data released by the Indiana Department of Health shows the statewide infant mortality rate fell from 6.8 per 1,000 live births in 2018 to 6.5 in 2019. The mortality rate among Black infants fell from 13.0 in 2018 to 11.0 in 2019.  A total of 527 Indiana babies died before their first birthdays in 2019, down from 559 in 2018 and 602 in 2017.

"Franciscan Health's dedication to quality improvement in maternal and child health is truly inspirational," said Brittany Waggoner, IHA Maternal and Infant Quality Improvement Advisor. "Despite the challenges our Indiana delivering facilities are facing today, they remain committed to creating a highly-reliable obstetric care system for moms and babies across Indiana."

The Indiana Hospital Association serves as the professional trade association for more than 170 acute care, critical access, behavioral health, and other specialized hospitals in Indiana.