MHA Today | August 30, 2024

Staff Contact: Daphney Partridge

You only have a few days left to take advantage of early bird registration savings for MHA’s 2024 Annual Convention. Save $50 on registration fees through Tuesday, Sept. 3.

This year’s event, scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 13, through Friday, Nov. 15, in Kansas City, Mo., will have something for everyone, including the following.

• Learn how the 2024 election results could shape national and state health care policies.
• Delve into health care workforce retention strategies and pipeline development, and discover ways to enhance hospitals’ cultures of resiliency and safety.
• Gain insights into improving health care quality and patient safety.
• Discuss the future of hospitals, practical tools for organizational readiness for change, and how financial and data tools can drive better decisions.
• Understand the opportunities in areas like maternal care and behavioral health, and how science and technology can address risks and foster advancements.

Make a plan to attend and bring your team! Register today.

Staff Contact: Alison Williams

DHSS published A Multi-Year Look at Maternal Mortality in Missouri: 2017-2021 Annual Report on behalf of the state’s Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (PAMR) Board, a multidisciplinary board of experts from across the state tasked with examining the causes and contributing factors associated with maternal mortality and ultimately forming recommendations that could prevent these types of deaths from occurring in the future.

An average of 70 Missouri women died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy each year over five years (2017-2021), with the highest number recorded in 2020 (85 deaths). Cardiovascular diseases were the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths, followed by mental health conditions, including substance use disorders. Other key findings include the following:

• The pregnancy-related mortality ratio was 32.2 deaths per 100,000 live births.
• The pregnancy-related mortality ratio for Black women was 2.5 times the ratio of white women. This is a decline from the previous three reports.
• All pregnancy-related deaths due to mental health conditions, including substance use disorder, were determined to be preventable. Seventy-seven percent of all pregnancy-related deaths were determined to be preventable.
• Women living in micropolitan counties had the highest ratio of pregnancy-related deaths (38 per 100,000 live births). Prior reports found women living in metropolitan counties had the highest ratio.

MHA leads the Missouri Perinatal Quality Collaborative in association with DHSS. The Missouri PQC includes access to evidence-based initiatives, technical support, education and resources to support the reduction of severe maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Quality improvement collaboratives, which align with key MO PAMR findings and recommendations, are deployed for more complex topics and are designed to result in highly reliable processes and improved care outcomes.

Staff Contact: Becky Boyce

Robert Marsh will serve as the interim CEO of CenterPointe Hospital, St. Charles, Mo. Marsh also is currently serving as the CEO of CenterPointe Hospital of Columbia. He replaces Karen Kasten who has held the CEO position since March 2021.

Congratulations to Diane Maasen, receptionist, on 25 years of service to MHA!

Diane is the first person people hear when they call MHA and the first face they see when they arrive at the MHA office. Diane is responsible for booking all meeting rooms and placing catering orders for meetings. She also assists the Background Check Advantage department with employment background checks on individuals.