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2025 Wisconsin Perinatal Conference
Schedule


October 7 – 9, 2024 | Oshkosh, WI

October 6, Sunday

3:00 – 5:00 pm

WAPC Board of Directors Meeting

October 7, Monday

7:45 – 8:45 am

Registration, Breakfast, and Exhibits

8:45-9:00 am

Break

9:00 – 10:15 am

Welcome and General session:

March of Dimes 85 year history of collaboration with partners, communities, and patients

In its 85-year history, March of Dimes has been very successful leading and supporting improvements in perinatal health care. Relationships with partners, communities, and patients continue to play a crucial role in these improvements.

Elizabeth Cherot, MD, MBA, FACOG
President and CEO
March of Dimes

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.


This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

10:15 – 10:30 am

Break

10:30 – 11:30 am

Breakout sessions

Unbundling AIM’s Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy Bundle

AIM’s Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy bundle has been used to improve care and outcomes for pregnant persons with hypertension. This session will explore the elements of the bundle and provide strategies for implementing the elements in practice.

Amy Domeyer-Klenske, MD
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

Procedural Point of Care Ultrasound in the NICU: It’s not just Hocus POCUS

Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) is used with increasing frequency in the NICU. NICU fellowships are starting to offer POCUS training more often, though most neonatal providers still do not have training to perform procedural or diagnostic POCUS. The goals of this session is to: 1) Understand the basics in the use of POCUS, 2) Practice using POCUS to place a PIV, 3) Practice using POCUS to perform a lumbar puncture. To do this, we include both didactic and hands-on learning to practice using POCUS for PIV and LP.

Claudette Adegboro, MD
Adam S. Bauer, MD

Ann Chacko, MD
Tim Elgin, MD
Kate Hirsch, NNP
Amber Humphries, NNP
Nina Menda, MD, MHQS
Missy Rinehart, NNP

Anu Sharma, MBBS

University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health & UW Health

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

Are You Ready For It? How to protect your patients, while also protecting yourself

In the hospital/clinic, social situations arise on a regular basis. As a medical team, we want to help people, while making sure they/their family are safe. In this session, learn how to utilize your medical social worker (if you have one), how to document concerns in the medical chart and how/when to make a mandated child or adult protection report.

Kristine Hayes, CSW
Gundersen Health System

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

From Representation to Shared Power: Rebuilding the Hospital Community Task Force

The typical change node for hospital practice is the birthing center hospital quality improvement task force. The typical hospital task force is top down, clinically, inaccessible, with no accountability to community members. If community members are invited, they are few in number and are asked to represent their community, but they have no role in decision-making.  Enter the QI-TRACS model, currently piloted in Michigan. The goal of Reducing Breastfeeding Disparities through TRaining, Accountability and Community Supports (QI-TRACS) is to implement WHO strategies – using an explicit racial equity lens – to reduce disparities in breastfeeding rates among BIPOC dyads, as well as decrease birthing person and infant morbidity and mortality through hospital and community partnership, participation, and policy. To address the racial disparities that plague the BIPOC populations, limiting their ability to access breastfeeding as a feeding option, QI-TRACS model works to establish sustainable institutional change and trust between communities and hospitals. The presentation will describe the results of the MI pilot to date and provide concrete next steps, along with tools, to move WI birthing center task forces from Representation to Shared Power.

Paula Schreck, MD, IBCLC, FABM
Angelene Love-Adams, BS, Doula

The presenters have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

11:30-11:45

Break

11:45 am – 12:45 pm

Reducing tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis during pregnancy: Preliminary results from the First Breath substance use expansion

Last year, First Breath, an evidence-based, statewide perinatal tobacco cessation program expanded its focus to address all perinatal substance use. This non-experimental, mixed methods study describes preliminary results from the expansion, including characteristics of pregnant people who successfully stopped or reduced their use of tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis. Participants’ self-reported barriers and facilitators to quitting are also discussed. Connecting birthing people with individualized information, services, and support is critical to reducing the burden of perinatal substance exposure. The results of this study can be used to inform strength-based interventions and policies that promote the health of birthing people and children.


Kristine Alaniz, MPH
Moranda Medina Lopez

Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation

The presenters have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies. 

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

Understanding the New 2022 Hyperbilirubinemia Guidelines

This presentation will give brief overview of the previous hyperbilirubinemia guidelines and a thorough review of the new 2022 hyperbilirubinemia clinical practice guidelines for infants greater than 35 weeks including a discussion on the major changes in management and follow up.

Sarah Walder, RN, MSN, APNP, NNP-BC
Aspirus Wausau Hospital

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

Strategies for Integrating Behavioral Health in Perinatal Care

This presentation will utilize a panel comprised of perinatal psychiatrists and psychologists to review collaborative care models, including co-located care, teleconsultation, and multidisciplinary care, utilized in caring for perinatal patients. The panel will discuss benefits of collaborative care, as well as strategies to address barriers to implementation of collaborative care.

Elizabeth Hovis, MD
Abbey Kruper, PsyD
Christina Wichman, DO

Medical College of Wisconsin

The presenters have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

Candy, bananas, and potatoes: a culinary delight of quality improvement methods

  • How do you measure a banana?
  • Discuss the importance of developing a clear operational definition for your measure
  • Identify a way to test your operational definition
  • Learning about variation using candy
  • Define common cause and special cause variation
  • Understand why understanding variation is important when working to improve a process
  • Potato Head and PDSA cycles
  • Perform PDSA cycles and the iterative change process

Nina Menda, MD, MHQS
University of Wisconsin-Madison/ UnityPoint Health Meriter

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

12:45 – 3:15 pm

Lunch, Exhibits, and Networking

1:30-3:00 pm

WisPQC Steering Committee Meeting

2:00-3:00 pm

Staff-led Walk around Osthoff Resort Grounds

3:00-3:15 pm

Break

3:15-4:45 pm

General Session:

Moving the Needle: Solving MCH challenges using the Scientific Method

Reducing disparities in Maternal Child Health can seem insurmountable. We are constantly bombarded with data that illuminate the barriers inhibiting the success of our efforts to increase equity. These multi-pronged problems require a system of thinking that will help generate hypotheses that pose deeper questions, along with effective strategies of intervention. Evaluation needs to be iterative to ensure effectiveness in reaching the goal. This workshop will teach you how to utilize the scientific method in creating strategies that help you design processes that test which systemic lever(s) to pull to get the desired outcome for any problem in healthcare.

Beverly Hutcherson, MS
University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health

The presenters have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies. 


This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

5:30 – 9:30 pm

Awards Banquet and Entertainment

October 8, Tuesday

7:30 – 8:30 am

Registration, Breakfast, and Exhibits

8:30 – 9:30am

General session

Quality Improvement in Practice 

Panel Discussion

9:30 – 10:00 am

Break and poster session (author-attended)

10:00 – 11:00 am

Breakout sessions


Preventing Trauma in the Delivery Room

Just because we, childbirth professionals, think a delivery goes well does not mean that our patients perceive it the same way. 1 in 3 women report their birth experience as being traumatic. Many women are suffering from PTSD from their delivery experience. And many women believe that their trauma could have been prevented with improved communication and support from the staff caring for them! What are we doing, or not doing, as childbirth professionals that are causing 1/3 of our patients to have trauma related to what should be a very happy time. What are the long-term effects of this trauma and how can we prevent it?

Erica Costigan, MSN, RN, CNL, IBCLC, RNC-IAP

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

Family Integrated Care: What, Why, and How

In June 2023, the AAP published their most recent Standards for Levels of Neonatal Care: II, III, and IV. In it they affirmed: “The AAP values equity, diversity, and inclusivity and recognizes that family-centered care is essential for best outcomes and encourages facilities to amplify their focus on family members and staff to elevate the quality of neonatal care and improve the health outcomes of the nation’s most vulnerable population.” Family centered care has been implemented in various ways across the country to provide collaborative care in nursery and neonatal intensive care unit settings through its focus on respect, family participation, and information sharing. Family integrated care (FIC) is an evolution of this idea which empowers family members to be primary care givers. In this session we will delve into what Family integrated care entails, the benefits to infants and families, and the way that FIC can be adapted and implemented in your care setting.

Nathan Lepp, MD, MPH
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

Understanding the Safe Haven Law

Presentation provides overview of the Wisconsin law, the statistics around infant surrenders in Wisconsin, the roles of healthcare providers in a Safe Haven relinquishment and how to assist a woman facing a crisis pregnancy.

All hospitals and all hospital employees in Wisconsin are able to accept a Safe Haven baby according to Wisconsin’s Safe Haven Law.  It’s important to know how the law works and the responsibilities a hospital employee has as a part of the law. Anyone working with woman of child bearing age should know about this life saving option.

Tricia Burkett, MSW, CCM
Ascension – Safe Place for Newborns

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

Avoiding analysis paralysis:  Finding meaning in the data to impact SMM

The presenters will use OB hemorrhage case study to demonstrate how to apply the use of audit tools and debriefs to practice to improve patient outcomes.   Discussion will include: selection of audit tools, team review of cases, chart selection, process and outcome data monitoring, prioritization of improvement intervention, and the role of debrief.  Examples will be provided on how the use of debriefs and audit tools have impacted daily practice.

Nancy Patrick, DNP, RNC-OB, C-EFM
SSM Health St. Mary’s Madison

Courtney Pickar, MS, RNC-OB, ACNS-BC, C-ONQS
Ascension

The presenters have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

11:00am – 12:00 pm

Perinatal Foundation Board of Directors Meeting

11:00 – 11: 15 am

Break

11:15am-12:15 pm

Oral poster presentations

12:15 – 1:45 pm

Lunch, Business Meeting, and Exhibits

1:45-2:00 pm

Break

2:00-3:00 pm

Breakout Sessions

Enhanced Recovery after C-section

The presentation on ERAS helps display the effects of education and nonpharmacological interventions can play into a more enhanced recovery after surgery. This has allowed for a decreased opportunity of opioid use within our community and helps prevent the future contribution to the substance abuse.

Amy Frauenkron, RN, BSN
Erica Costigan, MSN, RN, CNL, IBCLC, RNC-IAP

Gundersen Health System

The presenters have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

“I am Living with HIV and Wish to Breastfeed”

For the past 40 years, women living with HIV in well-resourced countries have been instructed not to breastfeed their infants in order to reduce the risk of vertical transmission. Recently there have been significant changes to national infant feeding guidance. Breastfeeding by parents living with HIV can be supported by practitioners under some circumstances. This session will update participants on the current evidence for infant feeding choices for a parent living with HIV, examine the benefits and risks of breastfeeding under different circumstances and provide approaches to shared decision about infant feeding choices.

Stacie Ciesielski, MSN, RN, AMB-BC
  Medical College of Wisconsin
Sheryl L. Henderson, MD, PhD
  University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Claudia Vicetti Miguel, MD
  Medical College of Wisconsin

The presenters have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

Employment and other barriers to breastfeeding/chestfeeding: Who is most affected and how do we help?

This session will cover the current rates of breastfeeding among various population subgroups, and the barriers that contribute to rates being lower than recommended. We will also focus on employment barriers (despite recent federal legislation) as well as other barriers encountered by new parents. We will explore support for low-income and working parents to consider how we can help families provide the best nutrition possible for their infants.


Beth Olson, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

Pattern Visualization and Predictive Analytics to Understand Health Equity of Maternal and Infant Outcomes using PeriData.Net®

The session will describe how the PeriData.Net® clinical registry can be analyzed to understand the Health Equity of Maternal and Infant Outcomes. Currently, there are no studies that predict future maternal and infant outcomes based on historical PeriData.Net® data using a health equity lens.

Jeana M. Holt, PhD, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, APNP
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

3:00-3:30 pm

Break and author-attended poster session

3:30 – 4:30 pm

The Great Debate

5:15 – 7:00 pm

Perinatal Foundation Reception

October 9, Wednesday

7:45 – 8:30 am

Registration & Breakfast

7:45 – 8:30 am

Past President’s Breakfast – hosted by the Perinatal Foundation

8:30 – 9:45 am

General Session: Thomas A. Leonard, MD, Memorial Lecture

Colonialism and Native Reproductive Health in the Past and Present

This talk will provide an overview of the evolution of Native American birthing cultures and reproductive health outcomes in the context of U.S. colonialism. How have U.S. policies pertaining to Native reproduction changed over time, and how have the material circumstances wrought by colonization affected birthing people’s experiences of reproduction? How have Native communities responded to, adapted, and resisted these historical developments? The latter half of the talk will focus on the last half century, locating the origins of ongoing Indigenous women-led movements to decolonize birthing and reproduction and assessing the direction of current trends. What might Native reproductive justice look like in the next half century?

Brianna Theobald, PhD
University of Rochester

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

9:45– 10:00 am

Break

10:00 – 11:00 am

Breakout Sessions

Collaborating with the Emergency Department to Provide Evidence Based Care for Severe Maternal Hypertension

This session will discuss planning, education, and implementation of a hypertension protocol for pregnant women in the emergency department.

Janet Letter, MSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM
Caitlin Pieschek, BSN, RN-BC, CEN
 
Bellin Health & Gundersen Health System

The presenters have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

High-Risk Infant Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up: HOPE & DREAM

The goal of this presentation is to provide greater detail about the HOPE & DREAM Clinic high-risk patient population, as well as the services provided at each visit. Overall outcomes will be highlighted to help demonstrate the importance of early identification and intervention. Community resources to best support this patient population will be provided, along with important next steps on how to optimize the growth and neurodevelopment prior to the transition to the school system

Emily Patek, APNP
Children’s Wisconsin

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

Centralizing Resources and Creating a Framework for Early Referral and Intervention when a Baby Dies

There are many barriers for families to accessing bereavement services after their baby dies. These include limited availability, lack of appropriate support, discomfort asking for help, lack of trust of healthcare, and not knowing to access services. Creating a statewide program to provide equitable access to support service after a baby has died, helps to negate these barriers.

Kelly Pulford, CCLS
Star Legacy Foundation

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

But what are they saying? Hearing and understanding what families say about their care

Patients and their families are better informed about their health care than ever before. How do we understand what they understand? How do we incorporate their experiences of care into our health care models? This presentation will discuss the importance of including patient experience in health care and describe strategies for applying the patient’s voice to improve the quality of care delivered.

Samantha Woodworth, RN, BSN, IBCLC
SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital Janesville

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

11:00 – 11:15 am

Break

11:15 am – 12: 15 pm

Breakout Sessions

A Neurohormonal Approach to Coping With Labor

This session focuses on understanding the interpersonal neurobiology of the laboring brain and how that affects labor coping. This knowledge can help to quickly discern what types of non-pharmacological methods will work best with certain patients; how to soothe and calm patients triggered by trauma; and shorten labor. Along with the theory and research, over 50 non pharmacological methods for labor coping will be discussed.

Amy Gilliland, PhD, CSES, BDT(DTD)

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

The Role and Evidence behind Fetal Echocardiographic Surveillance and Management of Antibody Mediated Heart Block

A recent Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM) statement recommended that “serial fetal echocardiograms for assessment of the PR interval NOT be routinely performed in patients with anti-SSA/SSB antibodies outside of a clinical trial setting.”

Sarah Creighton, MD
David Saudek, MD
David Segar, MD, MS
Janette Strasburger, MD

Children’s Wisconsin/Medical College of Wisconsin

The presenters have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies. 

The Role of Public Health in Perinatal Care

This presentation will describe how public health nurses are working to improve perinatal health. We will look at the programs across the levels of the public health system that are working with individuals, communities, and systems to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. We will also take a closer look at unique approaches to addressing population concerns.

Katie Gillespie, DNP, RN, CPH
  University of Wisconsin-Madison
Shawn Meyer, MSN, RN, CLC
  Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Maternal and Child Health Program
Karen Morris, BSN, RN, PHNC
  UW Madison School of Medicine and Public Health

The presenters have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

This session is approved for 1.0 hour of credit for social workers. 

This session is approved for 1.0 credit for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES)

12:15 – 1:15 pm

Lunch & WAPC Business Meeting

1:15 – 1:30 pm

Closing