Postpartum Unit Modifies Delivery of Care to Enhance Readiness

Poster PresentationPurpose for the ProgramNew mothers and their families have multiple learning needs, starting in the prenatal period and progressing through labor into the postpartum phase. Nurses are accountable for facilitating the necessary learning by identifying and addressing the specific needs of the family unit. Before discharge it is the responsibility of the nurse and health care team to ensure that the patient and family receive consistent and reliable information. Recognizing an opportunity to improve patient perception of readiness for discharge, our mother/infant unit decided to revise our care delivery model.Proposed ChangeModifications to practice included development of a blue discharge folder to be originated upon admission and serve as a living document to record education and follow the woman throughout her stay. This folder served as a reference for the interprofessional team as well as a continuous resource for home. Additionally by incorporating a designated discharge nurse, providing an in‐patient daily Baby Care Class, developing and utilizing a Postpartum Resource Reference Guide, and incorporating specific medication use/side effect information cards, efforts were established to reinforce patient education throughout the hospital stay. Additional resources were implemented for women after discharge, including 24‐hour help‐lines, follow‐up phone calls, home health visits, breastfeeding support groups, and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitatio...
Source: Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: Newborn Care Source Type: research