Twelve more hospitals in Washington state have committed to join the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) and Ariadne Labs to implement TeamBirth: a best practices program that centers the patient in all health care decisions made throughout labor, delivery and postpartum. This group of hospitals represents the fourth cohort adopting the program, with go-live dates beginning the week of April 28.
TeamBirth was developed by Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. WSHA partnered Ariadne Labs to introduce the program in Washington in 2023. A total of 38 hospitals in Washington and Oregon participated in the program during its first three cohorts. WSHA hopes to achieve 100% adoption of TeamBirth across Washington state’s birthing hospitals by the end of 2025.
TeamBirth improves care by ensuring people giving birth and the clinicians caring for them have shared input and understanding during the delivery of care. The program calls for team huddles at key decision points throughout the hospital stay with the information discussed anchored on a white board present in all patient rooms. Huddles happen on admission to the hospital, with any changes to the patient or child’s condition, when decisions are made surrounding delivery and anytime the patient or a team member requests a huddle.
The huddle aspect of TeamBirth ensures that everyone involved in the birthing process is on the same page and that decisions are made transparently. The person giving birth – alongside any caregivers who are not part of hospital staff (doulas, spouses, parents of the expecting person, etc.) – convene with the maternal-newborn staff to go over a birthing plan and any desires or expectations of the person giving birth. This ensures shared decision making between the new parent and hospital staff in case of any unexpected changes to the delivery plan.
TeamBirth has already proven to be successful in improving patient experience among the first three cohort of adoptees.
The 12 hospitals participating in cohort three are:
- Island Health
- Jefferson Healthcare
- Kittitas Valley Healthcare
- Madigan Army Medical Center
- MultiCare Auburn Medical Center
- MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital
- MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital
- Olympic Medical Center
- Prosser Memorial Health
- Skagit Valley Hospital
- UW Medical Center — Northwest
- Virginia Mason Franciscan Health St. Elizabeth Hospital
The rollout of TeamBirth is a joint venture between WSHA and Massachusetts-based Ariadne Labs, supported with funding by Ballmer Group.
“All women and birthing people deserve to have a safe and dignified experience during and after their delivery,” said Dr. Amber Weiseth, DNP, MSN, RN, director of Ariadne Labs’ Delivery Decisions Initiative. “Having lived in Washington for most of my life, I am so excited that TeamBirth will continue to grow here, a state deeply committed to innovating and improving the quality of health care.”
“We are excited to be one of the first states in the country to implement TeamBirth. Our hospitals are committed to those giving birth having the best possible experience in the hospital bringing their new child into the world,” WSHA CEO Cassie Sauer said. “Giving birth is such a special moment of life. The implementation of this program creates clear avenues of communication to keep everyone on the same page, and to keep the expecting parent an active participant in their health care.”