SD Health System Aims to Improve Maternal Care Outcomes Through Telehealth

Following the receipt of funding from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Avera Health aims to improve maternal care outcomes while enhancing rural healthcare access through telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM).

Based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Avera Health is an integrated health system that provides health services through 37 hospitals, 215 primary and specialty care clinics, and 40 senior living facilities. 

After receiving Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program (RMOMS) funding from HRSA amounting to $4 million, Avera plans to target and improve health services provided to rural and maternal populations. The organization aims to increase access to obstetrics services and improve outcomes such as pre-term labor, low birth weight, and infant mortality.

“Simply put, we want to see that moms and babies are healthy – throughout pregnancy, delivery and beyond,” said Kimberlee McKay, MD, clinical vice president of Avera’s OB-GYN Service Line, in a press release. “For that to happen, moms need access to high quality prenatal care and careful management of conditions such as high blood pressure and gestational diabetes, regardless of their zip code.”

The press release also noted that pregnant women often travel very long distances to participate in a visit with a primary care provider, which may deter some from seeking care.

Using the new funds, Avera Health plans to implement various virtual care services, including telehealth and remote patient monitoring. It also intends to connect various pieces of obstetrics care and previously established resources and ensure patients have access to statewide wraparound services.

Specifically, the services will target rural pregnant women in eastern South Dakota and surrounding tribal communities.

Further, the funding will be used to develop research practices, such as a data and evaluation program, to determine obstetrics needs in the state.

“As a highly integrated system, Avera is well-positioned to successfully carry out the aspects of this grant. We are excited about how the data we gather will impact the future of OB care delivery in rural areas and help provide positive outcomes,” said McKay.

Avera has years-long experience with implementing telehealth. In 2016, the health system implemented a virtual monitoring program for gestational diabetes that has decreased vaginal delivery complications, decreased cesarean delivery complications, and reduced the number of infants born at weights of 8.8 pounds or more, according to the press release.

In the past, various programs have aimed to support maternal care through telehealth.

In August, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan announced plans to work with Maven Clinic to create a virtual maternity care program that included parenthood, pregnancy, postpartum, and pediatrics resources.

A partnership between Trinity Health of New England and Nest Collaborative, which began in July, offers a virtual program to enhance access to breastfeeding support.