A Longitudinal Study of a Multifaceted Intervention to Reduce Newborn Falls While Preserving Rooming-In on a Mother-Baby Unit.

BACKGROUND: Newborn falls occur when newborns held by caregivers slip from hands or arms and land on another surface. Though injury is rare, The Joint Commission has highlighted newborn falls as a patient safety priority. One hospital sought to reduce newborn falls to fewer than 10 per 10,000 births, to achieve 365 days without a fall, and to reduce injuries from falls to zero, while preserving mother-baby rooming-in. METHODS: An interprofessional quality improvement team developed and implemented prevention measures after three falls occurred in a two-month period. The team performed root cause analysis (RCA) of events and 10 in-depth chart reviews, and developed and implemented parent education materials, a nursing risk assessment tool and job aid, and a standardized reporting system. Outcomes were measured using statistical process control methods for rare events. RESULTS: In early 2017 the hospital's newborn fall rate increased to 71.8 falls per 10,000 births, with 3 falls occurring in a two-month period. RCA and chart review found sustained prenatal maternal opioid intake in 4 of 10 cases. Mechanism of fall differed by mode of delivery, with more drops by a sleeping caregiver following vaginal deliveries and falls due to maternal trips after cesarean deliveries. After interventions, the fall rate decreased to 15.5 per 10,000 births. Days between falls increased from a low of 9 days to a high of 467 days. No newborn injuries have occurred since early 2017. CONCLUSION: A series of interventions, including parent education, nursing practices, and attention to physical layout, was associated with reduced newborn falls and elimination of fall-related injuries while preserving rooming-in on a mother-baby unit with many opioid-exposed newborns.

Quality-Improvement Effort to Reduce Hypothermia Among High-Risk Infants on a Mother-Infant Unit.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Neonatal hypothermia is common in low birth weight (LBW) (<2500 g) and late-preterm infants (LPIs) (34 0/7-36 6/7 weeks' gestation). It can be a contributory factor for newborn admission to a NICU, resulting in maternal-infant separation and increased resource use. Our objective was to study the efficacy of a quality-improvement bundle of hypothermia preventive measures for LPIs and/or LBW infants in a mother-infant unit. METHODS: We conducted plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles aimed at decreasing environmental hypothermia for LPIs and/or LBW infants in a mother-infant unit with no other indications for NICU-level care. Interventions included using warm towels after delivery, a risk identification card, an occlusive hat, delayed timing of first bath, submersion instead of sponge-bathing, and conducting all assessments under a radiant warmer during the initial hours of life. We implemented these interventions in 3 PDSA cycles and followed hypothermia rates by using statistical process control methods. RESULTS: The baseline mean monthly hypothermia rate among mother-infant unit LPIs and/or LBW infants was 29.8%. Postintervention, the rate fell to 13.3% (-16.5%; P = .002). This decrease occurred in a stepwise fashion in conjunction with the PDSA cycles. In the final, full-intervention period, the rate was 10.0% (-19.8%; P = .0003). A special-cause signal shift was observed in this final period. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted interventions can significantly reduce hypothermia in otherwise healthy LPIs and/or LBW newborns and allow them to safely remain in a mother-infant unit. If applied broadly, such preventive practices could decrease preventable hypothermia in high-risk populations.