Forrest General Hospital Family Birthplace Nurses Participate in ALSO Training

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – (June 29, 2023) Forrest General Hospital was one of eight health systems awarded Advance Life Support for OB Emergencies (ALSO) training out of more than 30 systems that applied. The training promotes safety and quality maternal outcomes for patients in Forrest General’s Family Birthplace.

Labor and Delivery team members participating included charge nurses from both the day and night shifts.

Following standardized, evidence-based guidelines, the class used teaching methods and simulation drills which provided information for early recognition and intervention to high-risk obstetrical emergencies. 

Training will help Forrest General’s Family Birthplace staff to provide even better care for its OB patients. Through knowledge of content, practice of skills, and use of mnemonics, nurses learn to quickly retrieve “actions” necessary to reduce morbidity.

Patient outcomes are shown to improve when team members work together in an environment where practicing team training is considered a high priority. Teamwork tools such as situational awareness, standardized language, closed-loop communication, and shared mental model were emphasized during workstations and skill check-off using original drill sets.

Stephanie Swilley, MSNed, RNC-OB, C-EFM, ONQS, president/faculty for Triple S Review Services, conducted the training which was sponsored by the Mississippi Public Health Institute (NMNPHI) and the MS Perinatal Quality Collaborative (MSPQC), a statewide partnership that aims to promote evidence-based quality improvement initiatives at the hospital and community level to improve birth outcomes in Mississippi. 

Early recognition is the key to limiting morbidity and mortality in these high-risk events, according to Swilley. “One of the biggest advantages to this systematic approach to team training is providing intense obstetrical high-risk drills,” she said.

“It is my honor to train Mississippi teams to promote positive outcomes in OB care,” noting that as the recent MSPQC annual convention Mississippi is ranked 44th related to maternal morbidity and mortality outcomes. 

Those participating received CEs and CMEs based on the participant licensure and were awarded a certificate of training valid for three years. 

For more information about Forrest General Hospital’s Women & Children’s Services, visit www.forrestgenerall.org/womenandchildren.