Whitney Garland has done an excellent job of leading the Family Birthplace Unit Council for fiscal year 2020. Even during a wild and crazy year of extra work, little down-time, and meeting challenges, she managed to lead the team to accomplish the 2020 unit goals. One of the major projects this year was the “Cesarean Section Postpartum Pain Bundle”. AWON studies have shown that postop C/S patients with the following groups of interventions have decreased narcotic use: 1) ice pack to the incision; 2) scheduled Tylenol, mylicon, and Advil 3) gum 4) abdominal binder. This pain bundle required coordination with physicians (order sets), IT (documentation), materials management (products), and pharmacy. This program also included staff education. We are currently collecting data pre and post project to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions.

Another unit council project was initiation of follow-up phone calls. Follow-up phone calls are not only a very nice courtesy but are also effective in capturing problems that the mother and baby may be experiencing at home, breastfeeding problems, postpartum mood disorder, or even problems with blood pressure. This major project has involved running reports (weekly delivery lists) and creating a jog to track calls.

The FBP council has also initiated an aromatherapy station. Staff was educated on the appropriate essential oil for common complaints in labor such as pain, nausea, and anxiety. The patient is education on admission to the unit.

The council has also had blue tooth speakers installed in every labor room to offer music therapy as an alternative option to control pain for patients during labor and recovery. Meeting has been a challenge this year! Everyone has been busier than usual this year, both at home and at work. The council has done live meetings, zoom meetings and combinations of the two. They have met in the early mornings at the start of the shift and in the evenings. The commitment of this council to continue the meetings and projects that impact patient care has remained steadfast.