REGIONAL PERINATAL NURSE CONSULTANT

The perinatal nurse consultant visits the community hospitals at least annually. The length of visits and topics presented vary with the type of hospital and the stated needs of the nursing personnel. The aim is:

• To provide continuing education for nurses in the form of individual, group and seminar teaching. Courses offered include:
  • Maternal/Newborn Nursing
  • Fetal Health Surveillance
  • NRP Provider and Instructor Courses and Updates
• To assess needs of community hospitals by surveying:
  • facilities and physical layout
  • equipment
  • policies and procedures
  • staffing patterns
  • quality of nursing care
• To liaise with nursing, medical and administrative staffs to encourage interest and concern for the delivery of optimal perinatal care in their area.
• To maintain open communication lines between the program, the region's hospitals, and the tertiary unit.
• To offer consultative services with regard to:
  • formulating policies and procedures
  • purchasing equipment
  • current educational materials

These are carried out by the program co-directors and nurses. As with the perinatal nurse visits, arrangements are made for visits to all Southwest regional hospitals at least annually for perinatal rounds and every six months at the tertiary unit.
The format and topics are flexible and depend upon the needs of the hospital's medical and nursing staff.
A confidential case review detailing outcomes is routinely given of mothers and their infants transferred to the tertiary centre.

For a list of upcoming Perinatal Rounds, click on the link.

HOSPITAL PROGRAM REVIEW

Any hospital may request an assessment of equipment, policies, staffing, facilities, and an evaluation of possible directions for its future role in perinatal care.

NEWSLETTER

A newsletter is distributed quarterly. This newsletter contains articles pertinent to modern perinatal care and dates of upcoming conferences, book reviews, etc.

PERINATAL MANUAL

Guidelines for specific aspects of perinatal care are distributed to area hospitals. These guidelines are regularly revised and are intended to assist individual hospitals in developing policies.

DATA COLLECTION

The partner organizations of the South Western Ontario Perinatal Partnership (SWOPP) are committed to collecting common perinatal indicators, and to contributing to regional and provincial reporting of perinatal information. Partner hospitals are individually responsible for participating in the Ontario Perinatal Surveillance System (OPSS). Beginning with data for the 2006-07 fiscal year, in-depth descriptive and comparative analyses of OPSS indicators pertaining to obstetrical and neonatal care will be conducted to assess volume and quality of perinatal care, and to assist with the development of relevant and responsive training and education initiatives

CONFERENCES

A conference is held annually in London where topics of current issues in perinatal care are discussed.  For more information on upcoming conferences or workshops, please click on the Education tab at the top of the page.

REGIONAL NURSE MANAGER MEETINGS

Meetings of Nurse managers from the southwest region are held semi-annually in London. This provides a forum for networking and discussing pertinent perinatal issues with colleagues.

SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO PERINATAL PARTNERSHIP
This working group was formed following the 12th Annual Regional Perinatal meeting held in September 1998. For more information on the current partnership activities, please click on the link for SWOPP

ORGANIZATION

The program is currently funded by St. Joseph's Health Care London and the University of Western Ontario. Services are offered to the hospitals offering obstetrical care in the Southwest region of Ontario.  The Program is presently undergoing a transition toward developing a Perinatal and Paediatric network of various regional stakeholders.

PROGRAM STAFF

Renato Natale, BSc, M.D., FRCSC, FACOG	Obstetrical Co-Director
Kevin Coughlin, BScH, M.D., MHSc, FRCPC, FAAP	Neonatal Co-Director
Gwen Peterek, RN, BScN, PNCC	Perinatal Nurse Consultant
Kelly Barzsa-Jenkins, RN, BScN	Perinatal Nurse Consultant
Henry Roukema, MD, MSc, FRCPC	Neonatal Medical Consultant
Jordan Schmidt, MD, FRCSC	Obstetrical Medical Consultant
Sheila Johnston	Administrative Assistant