Sanford Health has been invited to speak on a panel at the American Hospital Association Leadership Summit in San Diego on Monday to highlight how the health system is implementing digital strategies across its regional footprint to improve maternal health equity.
Johnna Ninas, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Sanford Bemidji, is one of three panelists who will discuss how hospitals are integrating digital solutions as part of a strategy to extend care beyond hospital walls to reduce barriers to healthy pregnancies.
The 2024 AHA Leadership Summit will bring together senior healthcare executives, clinicians and subject matter experts to showcase innovative approaches to delivering better care and greater value, ensuring financial stability, addressing workforce challenges and improving the healthcare consumer experience through operational excellence, creative partnerships and redefined delivery models.
Making prenatal care more accessible
In addition to Dr. Ninas, the panel will include Kristen Azar, PhD, executive director of the Institute for Advancing Health Equity at Sutter Health, and Veronica Gillispie Bell, M.D., senior site leader and chief of women’s services at Ochsner Medical Center Kenner. Julie Resnick, director of strategic initiatives at the American Hospital Association, will moderate the panel.
Photo courtesy of Sanford Health
“The quality and level of care patients receive should not be determined by their zip code,” said Dr. Nijnas. “We know that when patients receive recommended prenatal and postnatal care, they have better maternal and newborn health outcomes, which is why we offer care to women rather than expecting them to come to us.”
Dr. Ninas was recently named one of CNN’s Champions for Change honorees, which recognizes individuals who are making a difference in their communities and around the world. She was also featured in a CNN article detailing how Sanford Health is providing access to critical medical care through telehealth to pregnant women living in rural northern Minnesota. Sanford Health is providing patients with a low-tech toolkit that includes a Doppler to measure the fetal heart rate and a blood pressure cuff to use during virtual prenatal visits.
Impact on rural obstetric care
Dr. Ninas was instrumental in helping Sanford Health secure a $3.67 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Rural Obstetrics and Obstetric Management Strategies (RMOMS) program, which was used to create Families First: Rural Maternity Health Collaborative.
This regional collaboration focuses on improving access to prenatal, obstetric and postnatal care and reducing inequitable outcomes for women in rural, underserved areas and tribal communities.
As part of the RMOMS program, Sanford Health has put together a team to help schedule doctor appointments, provide transportation for patients and facilitate nurse visits to their homes to assess patients’ non-medical needs.
learn more
…
Published in Bemidji, Here for Everyone. Here for Forever. Inclusion at Sanford, Healthcare Leadership, News, Pregnancy, Virtual Care, Women
