Lessons from Cactus Flowers - Birth Center Research and Policy Think Tank
timely topics Breakout
DATE: Saturday, October 14th
TIME: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
FACULTY: Sarah Bradbury, DNP, ARNP, CNM & Olga Ryan, RN, MSN & Margarita Flores, CNM
This reverse classroom style think tank will be a facilitated brainstorming session to gather innovative best practices from around the country with regard to health care financing strategies, revenue cycle management and downstream impacts including staffing patterns and salaries. Despite poor reimbursement ratios across all payor types, birth centers consistently exceeded national quality benchmarks in perinatal outcomes. After review of 4 recently published AABC Research articles on revenue cycle and sustainability within birth centers, participants will strategize micro and macrolevel solutions. Participants will leave with a compendium of research articles and tools for negotiating with third party payers and strengthen the network of best practices regarding sustainability between birth center sites.
Faculty
Sarah Bradbury, DNP, ARNP, CNM
Sarah has been part of the birth world for over 20 years. She developed a passion for out of hospital work working as a nurse at a freestanding birth center in Kansas. She went on to midwifery school at Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing and continued working at the same birth center. When her family relocated, she opened a home birth practice that offered the only midwifery care option in her community for a decade. She now works at a county hospital as part of a 4 midwife team continuing to work on the integration of midwifery into all birth settings. She completed her DNP at Frontier Nursing University and continues to apply the quality improvement process within her community. She has been part of the AABC Research Committee for 2 years.
Olga Ryan, RN, MSN
Olga has been a registered nurse for over 30 years. She is a continuous student of leadership, as a graduate of Norwich University, an officer of the United States Air Force, a nurse manager, a birth center director, and as a board and community volunteer. She has been engaged in quality improvement in health care throughout her career, particularly with advocacy for midwifery-led models of care.
Margarita Flores, CNM
Margarita is a board-certified nurse-midwife (CNM). She is a student in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DPN) program at University of Colorado College of Nursing beginning in fall 2022. She was drawn to midwifery because of her interest in pregnancy and birth and the desire to help others. She has a wide range of experience from doing care in the home setting, birth center as well as a hospital setting. She has been involved in over 2,000 births. Her proudest career accomplishment is her focus care on the Latinx community. Margarita is also passionate about research and has presented two studies. She is doing additional research, pending completion in 2022, on equality of care and birth outcomes in the U.S. Latinx population and on the use of marijuana in pregnancy.
