Case Study: Phoenixville Hospital 2020 HAP Achievement Award

“Healthy Baby Program: Improving Access and Care for Underserved Pregnant Women”

During 2015, Phoenixville Hospital identified a need to launch a Healthy Baby Program. After a thorough data review and preparation, the hospital focused its initial outreach on the community’s Latino population, setting a goal to help more at-risk pregnant women receive access to care within their community.

To launch its program, the hospital collaborated with a local OB-GYN practice, churches, and non-profit organizations, providing patients access to local care, language support, and educational resources.

The hospital learned several important lessons from its project:

• Health literacy, language literacy, and cultural competency are top priorities to ensure patients have the proper support and access to care
• Bilingual patient representatives serve a critical role, offering language and navigator assistance by scheduling appointments, enrolling women in classes, and referring participants to community resources
• A strong partnership between the OB/GYN provider, hospital, and other community organizations can ensure similar programs are able to meet community needs

Thus far, the Healthy Baby initiative has been very successful, improving access to care for at-risk populations in the hospital’s primary service area. As the hospital begins to pursue its goals for the next decade, maternal, infant, and child health will remain a top priority.

Learn more about HAP's Achievement Awards program.

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Topics: Quality Initiatives

Revision Date: 8/1/2020

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