July 2016 marked the five-year anniversary of the SC Birth Outcomes Initiative (SC BOI), a collaboration of more than 100 stakeholders statewide focused on improving the health of all SC mothers and newborns. The Initiative has been a model for other states with SC’s unique public-private partnership leading the way with

• statewide expansion of CenteringPregnancy^® and Baby-Friendly Certification;
• Medicaid coverage of postpartum insertion of long-acting reversible contraceptives;
• payment reform for early elective deliveries;
• reimbursement of behavioral health screenings for pregnant and postpartum women; and
• clinician training through webinars and SimCOACH, the first mobile simulation laboratory in South Carolina.

SC BOI has helped improve maternal and child health outcomes with a

• 31% decrease in the Joint Commission’s early elective delivery measure,
• 58% decrease in non-medically indicated early elective inductions, and
• 9% decrease in elective primary and total C-Sections. 

The work of the SC BOI has been highlighted by National Public Radio, New York Times, and other national news outlets. In June of 2016, the South Carolina section of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists won the national organization’s Council of District Chairs Service Award for their involvement in BOI’s innovations. Most recently, Dr. Amy Crockett, BOI’s clinical lead, won the ninth annual John P. McNulty Prize for the Liberty Fellowship project in October, 2016.

More good news about accomplishments at the 5-year mark are highlighted in the 2016 BOI Infographic.^† 

^† As SC Healthviz focuses on SC DHHS Medicaid data, results represent only infants with Medicaid. Similar trends were seen for all infants.