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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09282026 Laydown - Providence Seward - RHTP 2026 Prenatal AccessLaydown 9/28/26 CC Work Session Providence Health & Services Washington Advanced Prenatal Access — Implementing a Hybrid OB Access Model in Seward and Anchorage Funding Requested: Funding Year Amount Year 1: $1,086,793.17 Year 2: $548,433.52 Year 3: $573,988.84 Year 4: $600,822.69 Year 5: $628,998.08 Serving Rural Alaskans By bringing high -quality maternal care closer to home, while leveraging regional specialty expertise, this project reduces long-standing disparities for rural families and delivers a safer, more reliable continuum of care that reflects the realities of life in frontier Alaska. • Improved Access: More patients can receive timely prenatal care within their home community, reducing delays in entering care, decreasing missed appointments due to travel barriers, and minimizing dangerous winter travel. • Improved Quality: Earlier identification of high -risk pregnancies, increased completion of recommended monitoring, and reduced need for emergency transfers lead to safer outcomes for both mothers and infants. • Sustainability: Local capacity is strengthened through permanent equipment investments, reimbursable prenatal and telehealth services, and reduced transfer - related costs. The model builds a stable, durable system that does not rely on establishing full -service obstetrics in a small rural hospital. Laydown 9/28/26 CC Work Session Project Overview Project Concept Opportunity Pregnant patients in the Seward service area face significant barriers to timely and safe obstetric care due to geography, distance, and unpredictable Alaskan weather. The nearest hospital with full obstetric and surgical delivery capability is approximately 90-125 miles away, and travel can become unsafe or impossible because of winter storms, avalanche conditions, and seasonal road or marine disruptions. Because Providence Seward Medical Center does not have OB surgical delivery capability, routine prenatal care may be delayed, urgent maternal -fetal evaluations may be deferred, and unplanned local deliveries can occur when transfer is not possible. These conditions increase the risk of preventable maternal and neonatal complications and disrupt continuity of care for mothers and newborns. This project addresses a critical rural access and safety gap by strengthening local prenatal access and maternal -fetal monitoring without building a full OB department. Project Concept Approach With targeted RHTP investment, Providence Seward Medical Center proposes implementing a Hybrid OB Access Model with Providence Alaska Medical Center that expands local prenatal services while integrating continuous specialty obstetric support through the continuum of care. The model includes structured in person prenatal care such as vital sign and symptom assessment, fetal heart tone monitoring, limited point -of -care ultrasound, nonstress testing, routine prenatal laboratory collection, and comprehensive patient education. Limited OB triage capacity will supplement outpatient clinic hours to reduce unnecessary travel to Anchorage. Telehealth partnerships with an OB and/or maternal -fetal medicine provider will support virtual prenatal visits, real-time review of local assessments, collaborative care planning, early identification of complications, and provider -to -provider consultation. Periodic onsite OB specialist visits further extend specialty expertise into the rural setting without requiring permanent surgical OB capacity. Project Concept Preliminary Outcomes If successful, this project is expected to increase access to local prenatal care, with more patients entering care earlier in pregnancy and completing recommended monitoring locally rather than traveling long distances. Quality improvements would include earlier identification of high -risk pregnancies, improved compliance with nonstress testing, and a Laydown 9/28/26 CC Work Session reduction in preventable emergency transfers. Patient experience is expected to improve through reduced travel burden and higher satisfaction with care. Initial changes would be observed following project launch as prenatal visit volume increases and care processes are established, with sustained quality and access improvements as utilization grows. Project Concept Sustainability After the initial RHTP-funded infrastructure investments at both PSMC and PAMC, the project is designed to be operationally sustainable. Local prenatal visits will generate Medicaid and commercial reimbursement, and telehealth services will remain reimbursable. Specialty OB support will transition from grant funding to operational funding, supported by reduced emergency transfers and lower complication related costs. Equipment purchased through the project represents long-term capital investment, enabling continued prenatal monitoring and care delivery beyond the grant period. Project Concept Key Risks or Uncertainties Key risks include potential variability in patient adoption of local services. The hybrid model also allows care volume to scale gradually as community utilization increases. Project Partnerships We will need to recruit partners.