February 2022
Texas Perinatal Services News
Texas Perinatal Forum to Focus on Maternal Designation in February
The maternal designation cycle in Texas wrapped up in 2021, but now is the time to prepare for the next survey.

Texas Perinatal Services is pleased to offer its Texas Perinatal Forum as an exclusive benefit for current hospital customers. The next forum will be on February 23 at 11:00 a.m. CST. Stephanie Fassett MSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, will present on, “Maternal designation: Navigating Education Requirements." Stephanie is the division clinical professional development specialty educator for Medical City Plano and McKinney. This presentation is ideal for program managers and educators at your hospital.

In addition to this forum, Texas Perinatal Services would like to remind our hospital partners who are preparing for the next maternal survey that Texas Perinatal Services provides consultation surveys with our expert surveyors. Our consultants spend a day and a half with the program manager and program staff to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current program, define opportunities for improvement, and offer recommendations to improve the program.

We hope our hospital partners can join us on February 23 for our Texas Perinatal Forum. Please register to attend the forum by clicking the button below.
Texas Perinatal Services Proudly Sponsors the TCHMB 2022 Summit - Continuing Education Credits Available
Texas Perinatal Services is focused on providing valuable education opportunities and supporting other education opportunities throughout the year.

Texas Perinatal Services is proud to once again be a sponsor for the 2022 Texas Collaborative for Healthy Mothers and Babies (TCHMB) 2022 Summit. This year's event will be virtual on February 16-18, 2022. Continuing education credits will be offered for participating in the NEON meeting prior to the summit and the TCHMB Summit. For more information on the education credits, please visit the TCHMB website and contact TCHMB directly with any questions.

This year's keynote speaker is Debra Bingham, DRPH, RN, FAAN, founder and executive director of the Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement.

Click the link below to register for the Summit. Registration closes on February 14 at noon.
OB/GYN Appointed to TETAF Board of Directors
In January, the TETAF Board of Directors unanimously approved the appointment of Joseph Petty, M.D., FACOG to the board. Dr. Petty will serve for the remaining year of a three-year term held by a former board member who resigned due to a change in employment.

Dr. Petty is the medical director for maternal program and OB hospitalists at Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital in Humble. He also serves as the medical director for BCFS Healthy Start Tyler and is the co-chair of the Quality and Patient Safety Committee for the Society of OBGYN Hospitalists (SOGH). Dr. Petty is also a member of the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council (SETRAC) Perinatal Committee and is a member of the Texas Collaborative for Healthy Mothers and Babies (TCHMB) OB Committee.

The newly assembled board will conduct its first quarterly board meeting of 2022 on February 8 at 3:00 p.m. The meeting will be virtual on Zoom. Register here to attend the meeting.

Dr. Petty's term will end in December 2022. Learn more about all members of the TETAF Board of Directors at https://tetaf.org/board-of-directors/.
DEADLINE APPROACHING: Submit Your Interest to Join a TETAF Committee
If you are looking for a way to serve in 2022, please consider submitting your interest in serving on one of the Texas EMS, Trauma & Acute Care Foundation's (TETAF's) five committees.

TETAF seeks interested stakeholders who are dedicated to committing the necessary time for participating on a committee. The time involvement varies from committee to committee. 

Advocacy Committee - This committee works with TETAF and its Board of Directors on legislative issues relating to trauma, stroke, maternal, and neonatal care. 

Finance/Audit Committee - The Finance/Audit Committee works with TETAF, its treasurer, and the Board of Directors to provide an independent review of TETAF's finances. 

Survey Verification Committee - This committee works with TETAF and its Board of Directors on matters relating to the survey verification process and the surveys TETAF conducts.

Governance Committee - The Governance Committee works with TETAF and its Board of Directors on issues relating to board governance, including providing board member nominations to the Board of Directors. 

Education Committee - This committee works with TETAF and its Board of Directors on issues relating to educational opportunities for TETAF to provide.

If you are interested in participating in one of these committees, please complete the form linked below by Thursday, February 17 at 5:00 p.m.  
Maternal and Neonatal News
Perinatal Advisory Council to Meet on February 7
The Perinatal Advisory Council (PAC) will discuss rule revision updates, strategic review of maternal and neonatal levels of care designations, plus the waiver and appeals process during its next meeting on February 7 at 1:00 p.m. CST.

The meeting will be in the Bernstein Building located at 1100 West 49th Street in Austin and will be available via Microsoft Teams. View the agenda and join the meeting virtually from the PAC webpage.
February is International Prenatal Infection Prevention Month
This month is International Prenatal Infection Prevention Month and serves as an opportunity to share important tips and information to help mothers protect babies from infection during pregnancy and after birth.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a helpful page with tips to use during this month.
Maternal and Neonatal News in Texas