Hospital collaborates with community partners on maternal health

To mitigate higher than usual newborn readmission rates, Saint Anthony Hospital, based in Chicago, began sending at-risk mothers and babies home with blood pressure monitors and rectal thermometers. The hospital also launched a telephone postpartum visit program, overseen by a midwife. St. Anthony’s treats 1,400 maternity patients each year, almost all of whom are Black or Latino and from low-income households. The hospital received funding and technical assistance from the health equity grant collaboration between the American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. The case study is available on the IFEHE website.