Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights has become the first hospital in Ohio to earn TeamBirth site recognition, a designation tied to an evidence-based model of care that uses structured communication and shared decision-making throughout labor and delivery. The recognition came from Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation, and covers Hillcrest’s entire maternity service, where all patients are now expected to take part in TeamBirth huddles.
According to Cleveland.com, TeamBirth brings together the person giving birth, their support people, and their care team, including staff from the emergency department, labor and delivery, and postpartum units, to discuss care plans and participate in decisions together. Monique Katsuki said clear communication can make a lasting difference in families’ care experiences, per the outlet’s report. Hillcrest instituted TeamBirth as its standard of care in June 2024, and the hospital now encourages patients to request a huddle any time they have questions or concerns.
A Model Built On Structured Huddles
Ariadne Labs instituted TeamBirth in 2020, and the framework has since been implemented in more than 300 hospitals nationwide, the outlet’s report notes. The model centers on bedside whiteboards and scheduled care huddles, and in Ariadne Labs’ original pilot trial across four U.S. hospitals, 97% of patients reported having the exact role they wanted in their childbirth decisions, while 90% of nurses, midwives, and obstetricians said they would recommend the model to other birthing units, according to Ariadne Labs. A 2022 study available through the National Institutes of Health’s PubMed Central defines labor huddles as discussions involving the full care team, including the patient, nurse and delivering provider, to review labor preferences and make shared decisions.
Hillcrest’s own rollout followed an earlier pilot at Cleveland Clinic Akron General, which began in late 2022 as one of four national pilot sites for the model. After that pilot launched, Akron General’s patient satisfaction score for “nurses listen carefully to you” rose 10.56% in the first quarter of 2023, reaching 90.48%, per Cleveland Clinic. Building on that result, Cleveland Clinic expanded TeamBirth to labor and delivery units at its main campus, Fairview Hospital, and Hillcrest Hospital in July 2024.
Hillcrest’s Maternity Services
Hillcrest offers low-intervention birthing suites and midwifery services, and its care teams include physicians, midwives, nurses, and lactation consultants, according to Cleveland.com’s report. The hospital also has a Level III neonatal intensive care unit providing specialized monitoring and treatment for newborns requiring advanced support, along with an OB emergency department, opened in 2021, that offers immediate evaluation for pregnancy-related concerns at any time of day. Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital has also been named a high-performing hospital on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals for Maternity Care list, the outlet reports…