Last week, teams from Twin Cities Midwifery, Hennepin County EMS, and University of Minnesota Medicine Fairview Riverside came together for a Step Up Together Full Transfer Drill simulating a postpartum hemorrhage that began in the community, moved through EMS transport, and concluded with hospital-based emergency care.
And we did it in a snowstorm!
Under the leadership of Kate Saumweber Hogan, CPM, this drill showed exactly what’s possible when community midwives, EMS, and hospital teams train together for rare, high-acuity events.
🔍 Inside the Scenario
💉 Midwives quickly recognized risk factors and symptoms of hemorrhage and initiated evidence-based interventions right away—pitocin, methergine, IV fluids, TXA, and bimanual compression—while activating the transfer.
🩸 Hennepin County EMS took over seamlessly, managing transport, tracking vitals, and even administering blood en route (yes—some EMS systems now carry and transfuse blood in the field during critical emergencies!)
🫶🏼 At UM Fairview–Riverside, the team completed the massive transfusion protocol and placed a Jada device, closing the loop on a fully simulated community-to-hospital emergency.
🤝 Why Drills Like This Matter
Full Transfer Drills are logistically complex and rarely done, but they’re incredibly high-value. They strengthen:
🧠 Early recognition and rapid response
🚑 EMS coordination during the “second delay”
🏥 Hospital readiness and seamless handoff
💬 Communication and trust across levels of care
This Minneapolis-based team is one of 22 teams around the country participating in our 2025-2026 Step Up Together Action Collaborative, to make it possible to pull off this experience with tools, coaching, and community that maximize the learning and team building that emerges.
Our 2024 Step Up Together Action Collaborative showed that drills like these improve confidence, teamwork, and transfer efficiency while surfacing practical improvements teams can implement right away. Read our published results.
💙 Gratitude
A huge thank you to all the midwives, paramedics, nurses, physicians, and staff who showed up despite the weather to practice the kind of collaboration that keeps birthing people and babies safe. This is what it looks like to truly step up together for perinatal safety.
If your community is interested in running a Full Transfer Drill or joining an upcoming Action Collaborative, reach out! We’d love to help bring this kind of teamwork to more regions.
And you can download the Step Up Together Drill Kit this team used for FREE, and use it to begin planning your drill right now.
