Blog

Step Up Together for PQCs: From Drills to Sustainable System Change

then updated December 3, 2025.

By Emily Bronson

Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (PQCs) exist to turn evidence into action so maternal and infant health care gets safer and more equitable. The National Network of PQCs (NNPQC) and the CDC describe PQCs as state or multi-state networks that rapidly improve care through data-guided implementation. After more than a decade of focus on hospital-based preparedness, there

AABC Birth Institute Roundup

then updated November 10, 2025.

By Jennifer Johnson

The American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) has stood by their mission to promote and support freestanding birth centers and alongside midwifery units in all communities to achieve a high-value model of evidence-based care that is equitable, safe, and respectful for over 40 years. I have been fortunate in my career to have worked in

Transforming Maternal Health with Step Up Together

then updated October 27, 2025.

By Emily Bronson

Have you heard of the new CMS model designed to improve maternal health care?  As of January 2025, 14 states and D.C. are participating in the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model. TMaH is a 10-year care delivery and payment model that funds state Medicaid programs to focus on three pillars: 1) Access, Infrastructure & workforce

What It Really Means to Join a Step Up Together Action Collaborative

then updated August 28, 2025.

By Amy Romano, MBA, MSN, CNM, FACNM

If you’re considering joining a Step Up Together Action Collaborative—or encouraging your hospital or community partner to do so—you might be wondering: what does participation actually look like? The short answer: it’s a structured, time-limited commitment with real benefits for your team and your patients. The longer answer is that there’s a rhythm to the

Right-Sizing Your Drill: Finding the Fit for Your Team

then updated August 20, 2025.

By Amy Romano, MBA, MSN, CNM, FACNM

There’s nothing quite like the power of a large, truly interdisciplinary Full Transfer Drill. One Massachusetts participant recently reflected: That drill brought together area home birth midwives, EMS providers, hospital team members from multiple departments, hospital administrators, and Department of Public Health officials—an extraordinary example of what it looks like when a whole system shows

Tools for Massachusetts Hospitals Integrating Community Perinatal Services

then updated August 14, 2025.

By Amy Romano, MBA, MSN, CNM, FACNM

In the wake of historic maternal health legislation providing greater access to community midwifery and doulas, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health embarked on and funded a collaborative process to implement system-wide change to fully integrate these care models into the healthcare system. A major part of this effort has involved making community-specific plans for

The 3 Delays: Strengthening Your Transfer Process Before It’s Urgent

then updated August 11, 2025.

By Amy Romano, MBA, MSN, CNM, FACNM

When an emergency happens in a community birth setting, every minute counts. In Step Up Together, we use the 3 Delays Framework to help teams identify and address the most common barriers to safe, timely, and respectful transfers from home or birth center to hospital care. The 3 Delays model has been used worldwide to

From Drill to Real-World Change: The Most Common QI Projects Sparked by Full Transfer Drills

then updated September 9, 2025.

By Amy Romano, MBA, MSN, CNM, FACNM

Full Transfer Drills are one of the most powerful tools for strengthening community-to-hospital transfer processes. They don’t just test logistics, they spark lasting quality improvement (QI) projects that make care safer and more seamless. Through the Step Up Together® Action Collaborative, we’ve seen clear patterns in the kinds of QI projects that emerge. These projects often map directly onto the Three Delays framework, a proven lens for understanding barriers to safe and timely care.

Which Hospital Are You? 3 Stages of Readiness for Community Birth Integration

then updated July 24, 2025.

By Amy Romano, MBA, MSN, CNM, FACNM

Hospitals across the country are grappling with how to engage more meaningfully with community-based care models. Whether you’re navigating growing demand for out-of-hospital options, responding to calls for equity and respectful care, or just trying to ensure smoother transfers from home or birth center births, one thing is clear: integration doesn’t happen overnight. But that

Practice Makes Prepared: Choosing Between Partial and Full Transfer Drills—and Why Both Matter

then updated July 23, 2025.

By Amy Romano, MBA, MSN, CNM, FACNM

In community birth settings like birth centers and home birth practices, emergencies are rare—but when they happen, everyone needs to be ready. That’s why interdisciplinary emergency drills are so critical: they help teams practice protocols, build trust across settings, and make life-saving decisions more efficient under pressure. At Step Up Together, we’ve seen firsthand how

Integrating Doulas into Community Birth Transfer Drills

then updated July 7, 2025.

By Emily Bronson

Practicing for community-to-hospital birth transfers for clinical emergencies is crucial for effective preparedness for all professionals involved in the birth process. Though these events are rare, there is a real chance that a birth doula will be present when a birthing person requires a transfer from a home or birth center.  As part of the

New National Guidelines Strengthen Intermittent Auscultation in Community Birth Settings

then updated July 8, 2025.

By Amy Romano, MBA, MSN, CNM, FACNM

We’re proud to share that new national guidelines for fetal assessment using intermittent auscultation (IA) in community birth settings have just been published in Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care. These midwifery-led, peer-reviewed guidelines mark a critical step toward strengthening safety, clarity, and collaboration in home and birth center birth. The new guidelines were developed through

Building Trust and Improving Safety

then updated July 7, 2025.

By Alexa Dougherty, MSN, PHN, CNM

When Burr Ridge Birth Center (BRBC) opened its doors in Spring 2021, it was only the third birth center in the state and the first in its county. This interview offers a detailed look at how Step Up Together has strengthened BRBC’s approach to safety, collaboration, and client care.

🎉 Birth Detroit, Henry Ford Hospital, and Birth Center Week 2024

then updated July 7, 2025.

By Alexa Dougherty, MSN, PHN, CNM

Join the conversation on building collaborative care for safe community birth! In celebration of Birth Center Week 2024, Step Up Together partnered with Birth Center Equity, Birth Detroit and Henry Ford Health to explore how interprofessional drills can strengthen communication and preparedness between community birth centers and hospitals. Read key takeaways from the webinar and discover strategies to foster seamless, respectful birth care for all communities.

Amy’s on ACOG’s AIM for Better Birth Podcast!

then updated July 7, 2025.

By Alexa Dougherty, MSN, PHN, CNM

Discover new tools and insights for improving perinatal safety! In this post, Amy shares her contributions to ACOG’s new AIM Community Birth Transfer Resource Kit and discusses the importance of quality improvement and collaboration in community birth on the AIM for Safer Birth podcast. Explore key takeaways and learn how Step Up Together can help advance safety in your care setting.

Rural Emergency Preparedness: A Success Story at Cocoon Wellness and Birth Center

then updated July 7, 2025.

By Alexa Dougherty, MSN, PHN, CNM

Access to maternal health in the U.S. is becoming increasingly challenging. With the closure of obstetrics units in hospitals and resulting  expansion of maternity deserts, the need for high-quality rural obstetric providers has never been more critical. Birth centers and midwives are an essential part of this solution, and the story of Cocoon Wellness and

Celebrating Success: Step Up Together’s First Action Collaborative for Birth Centers and Hospital Partners

then updated July 7, 2025.

By Alexa Dougherty, MSN, PHN, CNM

In May 2024, the Step Up Together team at Primary Maternity Care (PMC) celebrated a significant milestone—the completion of our first Action Collaborative focused specifically on birth centers and their hospital partners. We’re thrilled to share that it was a resounding success!This collaborative effort adds  to Step Up Together’s growing  curriculum of programs aimed at

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