The KyPQC Neonatal Workgroup is dedicated to standardizing and improving the quality of care for infants in Kentucky. The goal of the KyPQC Neonatal Workgroup is to improve health and social outcomes for infants and children in Kentucky. This workgroup is dedicated to empowering social support services and child safety advocates as partners and allies in vulnerable populations and promoting access to optimal pediatric care during the first year of life.
The incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is an important consequence of the opioid crisis and a source of preventable morbidity and mortality in infants. NAS surveillance and analysis is mandatory in Kentucky and serves as a means to improve outcomes and care for children and families impacted by substance use disorders.
This initiative aims to improve data collection and reporting practices of NAS among birthing hospitals throughout Kentucky, accomplished through the development of education and guidance that standardize NAS reporting practices.
Identify champions at each facility that will engage with the Neonatal Workgroup and ensure that accurate and timely NAS reporting is ongoing.
Provide training and guidance for reporting NAS case data to the Kentucky Department for Public Health NAS Registry.
Standardize best practices for identifying and reporting infants with NAS.
Increase percentage of NAS cases at each facility that are reported to the NAS Registry.
Dr. Leann Baker is an Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville, where she holds a joint faculty appointment with the Schools of Nursing and Medicine. At the School of Nursing, she is the coordinator for the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program; her appointment with the School of Medicine includes her continued practice as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner with Norton Children’s Medical Group. She brings a unique perspective to the KyPQC steering committee, with over 25 years of healthcare experience as a previous labor and delivery and NICU nurse, and now as a neonatal advanced practice provider and leader.
Hannah Fischer completed her training in neonatology at the University of Louisville and joined faculty as an assistant professor in 2015. She has completed the Intermediate Improvement Science Series and Advanced Improvement Methods courses through Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and currently serves in the role of Director of Quality Improvement and Safety for the division of neonatology. She has been involved with or lead many quality improvement projects locally and is inspired by the improvement in outcomes that can be achieved. She aspires to teach others to improve their healthcare systems and has developed the Neonatal Fellows Quality Improvement Curriculum to further this goal. Her work has been recognized by her peers and received the “Pediatrics Outstanding Performance Award” for her quality improvement work from the University of Louisville Department of Pediatrics in 2019.
Pauline Hayes is a registered nurse with 46 years hospital experience, 43 of which were spent as a NICU nurse and the last 11 years as unit manager. During her hospital experience, Ms. Hayes took part in research, quality improvement projects, and staff education. She served as a member of the multidisciplinary task force that developed the first treatment protocol for NAS in 2009. Ms. Hayes serves as a hospital-based NRP instructor and STABLE instructor. She is certified in Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing and she finished her MPH in December of 2018. Currently, Ms. Hayes is the Perinatal Nurse Consultant/Inspector for the Division of Maternal and Child Health within Kentucky’s Department for Public Health. Besides being a member of the Neonatal workgroup for the KyPQC, Ms. Hayes is also on the board of the Kentucky Perinatal Association.
Tracey Jewell has over 22 years of public health experience practicing Epidemiology. She is currently the Senior Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Epidemiologist with the Kentucky Department for Public Health and serves as Manager of the Program Support branch, which houses all Epidemiologists within the MCH Division. She has mentored several graduate students in public health and has guest lectured in several graduate level MCH and Epi courses. She also manages the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System program for Kentucky, the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Registry for Kentucky as well as managing several federal grants for the Division of MCH. Tracey also has extensive experience in applying epidemiological principals/methods and data analysis to monitor trends, evaluate programs, establish surveillance systems, and enhance public health programs. Mrs. Jewell earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Western Kentucky University where she majored in Community Health and minored in Psychology. She then earned her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Alabama Birmingham, School of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology and International Health.
Graduate of Purdue University and Indiana School of Medicine. Pediatric Residency at Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis IN followed by completion of Neonatal Medicine fellowship at the University of Louisville. Now Associate Professor in Pediatrics at the University of Louisville and NICU Medical Director and Chief of Pediatrics at the University of Louisville Hospital.
Healthcare has always held a special place in Kim’s heart. Starting her career as a Registered Respiratory Therapist, with focused care of heart and lung transplant recipients, she was always drawn to those who were the most at risk and fragile. Perhaps that is one reason her career shifted to caring for the tiniest patients of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit 20 years ago. The intriguing, challenging environment of the NICU prompted Ms. Scarborough to return to college to become a Registered Nurse, Certified in Maternal Newborn Nursing so that she could expand her scope of practice. After serving as a NICU, Newborn Admissions and Postpartum Nurse, Kim now serves as the Obstetrical Educator at Baptist Health Hardin. This role not only puts her on the front lines with the bedside nurse, but also a global appreciation for the healthcare system’s Shared Governance model for promoting and implementing evidence-based practice where she’s actively involved as the Co-Chair for the Project Resource and Development Council. Outside of her role as an Obstetrics Educator, Kim remains active in maternal-child organizations such as AWHONN, NANN, Maternal Child Health Organization, KyPQC Steering Committee and currently serves as President of the Kentucky Perinatal Association through June 2021.