Cleveland Clinic is set to expand its rollout of a unique labor and delivery initiative, which led to a reduction in Cesarean section rates and a boost in patient satisfaction, to three other hospitals, it announced July 1.
Cleveland Clinic adopted TeamBirth in October 2022, piloting the method at its Akron General location.
TeamBirth is a care delivery model jointly created in 2021 by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Ariadne Labs and UMass Memorial Health. It emphasizes routine check-ins with all members of a patient's care team and family at key points to streamline communication about birth preferences and patient status, using a whiteboard as a key tool.
Since adopting it, the health system saw the rate of C-sections for Black mothers go down from 41% to 22%. Rates also improved for white mothers, dropping from 27% to 23%, bringing the outcomes for its patient populations to a more equitable level.
"We have seen a marked improvement in outcomes and patient satisfaction scores since implementing TeamBirth, and we are excited to see it expanding to other Cleveland Clinic hospitals," Jennifer Savitski, MD, director of obstetrics and gynecology at Akron General, who also led the rollout, stated in the release.
In the same time frame, satisfaction went up across five categories in 2022 to a perfect 100% for:
- Friendliness/courtesy of the unit — up 10% from 2022.
- Staff concern, information about progress and baby’s condition — up 12% from 2022.
- Nurse promptness in responding to patient call — up 12% from 2022.
- Nurses attitude toward patient requests — up 13% from 2022.
- Doctor and staff working together during birth — up 15% from 2022.
Patient satisfaction grew by 23% — from 72% in 2022 to 95% in 2024 — for how well they felt their pain was managed by Cleveland Clinic during labor.
"TeamBirth ensures every person has a voice in their birth experience," Dr. Savitski added.