Hospital-Based Programs for Substance Use Care in the Perinatal Setting
Programs Overview:
CO AIM: SUD is a cohort-based learning collaborative, where hospital teams learn alongside peer L&D units and implement Quality Improvement (QI) approaches focused on improving screening and referral rates for SUD and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs). In CO AIM: SUD, your L&D unit is guided through the development of systems to ensure that 100% of patients are screened for SUD, depression, and anxiety using validated verbal screening tools. If a patient is identified as having SUD, your unit is prepared to discuss the patient’s SUD in a non-stigmatizing manner and provide appropriate care, referral to treatment, and other supportive resources, which may include treatment/harm reduction modalities such as MOUD and naloxone. Participating hospitals join monthly learning calls to collaborate with other L&D units and receive clinician education and training. They submit quarterly data and receive customized data reports that help identify strengths and opportunities. Open to all birthing hospitals statewide, with financial rewards for participation and engagement. Learn more about CO AIM: SUD and how to participate.
Colorado MOMs (Maternal Overdose Matters) Initiative is a distribution program that provides birthing hospitals with free naloxone to dispense to at-risk perinatal patients and families. Open to all birthing hospitals statewide. Learn more about the MOMs Initiative and how to participate.
MOMs+ provides tailored, one-on-one technical assistance to L&D (Labor and Delivery) units to develop the ability to immediately begin life-saving, medication-assisted treatment for L&D patients with substance use disorder (SUD) during admission, while creating a bridge for patients to continue care outside of the hospital. While screening is addressed by MOMs+, most of the focus is treatment of SUDs, such as via inpatient MOUD induction, and connection to community recovery resources. MOMs+ is a part of CPCQC’s IMPACT BH (Improving Perinatal Access, Coordination and Treatment for Behavioral Health) program and an extension of the work of the Colorado MOMs (Maternal Overdose Matters) Initiative. A team of experts will work hand-in-hand with your hospital to assist with things like updating protocols and order sets, providing a customized needs assessment and gap analysis for your unit, creating workflows and an implementation plan for comprehensive SUD care, building community referral resources, and conducting staff training for medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and other SUDs. Open to any birthing hospital statewide, but with a limited number of sites selected to participate during the program’s first year in 2023, with financial incentives for participation. Learn more about MOMs+ and how to participate.
Participation in One or All Programs
All of these complementary programs work to improve the care for perinatal patients with substance use receiving care in birthing hospitals. Participating in multiple programs is a great way to accelerate your progress towards preventing maternal overdose, a leading cause of maternal mortality in Colorado and the nation. If your hospital is part of CO: AIM SUD, you have already taken a huge step forward in the care of your perinatal patients affected by substance use. Participating in MOMs+ will complement and supercharge your engagement in CO: AIM SUD by providing deeper technical assistance around treatment support, MOUD initiation in the L&D unit, and connections to outpatient treatment and recovery. If you already participate in the MOMs Initiative to dispense naloxone, participating in MOMs+ or CO AIM: SUD will ensure you are identifying and caring for as many at-risk patients as possible. While we encourage hospitals to participate in the full spectrum of programs, hospitals can choose to participate in any program. One program is not a prerequisite for the other.
We recommend that hospitals consider participating in CO AIM: SUD, the MOMs Initiative, and MOMs+ to provide the most comprehensive care for patients. CPCQC works closely to align activities between each program, and participation in any program provides access to experts across the various technical assistance teams who can support the unique needs of each hospital. All programs are totally free of cost to the hospital.
Differences Between Programs
The primary difference between MOMs+ and CO AIM: SUD is that MOMs+ takes a deeply customized approach to preparing your individual L&D unit to begin patients on medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and create bridges to outpatient treatment after a patient has screened positive for SUD. In comparison, CO AIM: SUD hospitals participate in a collaborative setting alongside other L&D units to lay the groundwork for universal, patient-centered verbal screening for perinatal substance use disorder in order to identify those patients most in need of SUD care.
Meanwhile, the MOMs Initiative is a distribution program that helps birthing hospitals provide overdose education and free naloxone directly to at-risk perinatal patients and families prior to discharge.
MOMs+ supports both CO AIM: SUD and the MOMs Initiative by helping hospitals provide comprehensive treatment options for those patients that were identified as using substances via screening. Each program achieves the goals of supporting perinatal patients with SUD through different and complementary approaches.
Data Collection
If you are already participating in CO: AIM SUD, there are no additional data collection requirements to participate in MOMs+. If you are new to either program, our team of experts will help you set up the data collection procedures to support your team in implementing data driven approaches to care for perinatal patients affected by substance use. Once your team is set up, you can seamlessly participate in both programs and receive on-going data technical assistance. Data reporting requirements for the MOMs Initiative includes a simple quarterly submission of the number of take-home naloxone kits dispensed per month.