Multidisciplinary healthcare and human services professionals currently engaged in or hoping to learn more about Colorado Hospital Substance Exposed Newborns (CHoSEN) Collaborative’s work convened virtually on April 15, 2021 to engage in shared learning and receive updates on work happening across the collaborative.
Intentions for the day were set by honoring Dr. Annie Hall’s legacy, reflecting on the ongoing impacts of structural and historical racism on maternal and infant health, and centering on the experiences of those directly impacted by perinatal substance use through recorded stories shared by two Substance Exposed Newborns Family Advisory Board members. Dr. Susan Hwang also shared a preview of CHoSEN’s current and upcoming efforts to expand its focus beyond the birth hospitalization to the prenatal and postnatal periods.
CHoSEN was honored to be joined by attending neonatalogists Dr. Stephen Patrick, Director of the Center for Child Health Policy and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy at Vanderbilt, and Dr. Elisha Wachman, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, for the day’s keynote presentations. Dr. Patrick’s keynote presentation reflected on how public health systems improve and impede optimal outcomes for pregnant women and infants affected by the opioid crisis, with a focus on barriers to treatment, the role of communities, and recent changes to the child welfare system. Dr. Elisha Wachman’s keynote presentation gave an overview of Boston Medical Center’s innovative approaches to engaging families in the prenatal, birth hospitalization, and postnatal periods.
In addition to the keynote presentations, attendees heard updates from CHoSEN’s leadership and from participating entities who are implementing exciting work:
- CHoSEN’s leadership shared:
- CHoSEN Policy, Multisystems, and Funding Update:
- Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative (CPCQC)’s Jaime Cabrera shared updates on funding streams and information on the work happening through the Colorado Department for Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) Maternal Mortality Prevention Program and Maternal Mental Health Collaborative & Framework.
- Illuminate Colorado’s Jade Woodard shared the updated set of Colorado SEN priorities developed by the SEN Steering Committee and Family Advisory Board, updates on the rulemaking processes for Plans of Safe Care and the revision to the Children’s Code, and information on bills relevant to substance use and pregnancy moving through Colorado’s legislative session.
- CHoSEN Policy, Multisystems, and Funding Update:
- Updates from participating entities included:
- Information on Kempe Center’s partnership with Denver Health to pilot a Perinatal Navigator Program, presented by Jennfier Koch-Zapfel
- Centura Health System’s experience implementing the Eat Sleep Console model of care, presented by Dr. Bridget Buzzella
- Denver Health’s integration of the Plans of Safe Care document into their electronic medical record system, presented by Dr. Lauren Bruns
Missed the event or looking to refresh your memory of the day? Find the materials, recordings, and related opportunities to engage below.
Materials and Recordings:
- Slides from the day can be found here.
- Recordings from the day can be found here.
- Boston Medical Center’s Prenatal Substance Use Breastfeeding Guidelines and a publication supporting use of these guidelines
- The first findings report from the Prenatal Substance Use and Improving Family Health study and more information about the project can be found here.
Opportunities to Engage:
- If you are interested in getting more involved in CHoSEN, need a presentation for your stakeholders, have specific data needs, or would like to schedule a virtual site visit, please reach out to Susan Hwang.
- Find information on the Colorado Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) Substance Use Disorder Learning Collaborative here.
- New Colorado SEN priorities have been established for 2021-2022, and the work to advance them is underway! Learn more about the priorities and how you can get involved. To learn more about additional systems change efforts, including relevant bills currently moving through the legislative session, please contact Jillian Fabricius.