Lehigh Valley Health Network Earns Recognition for Providing Comprehensive Care for Hypertensive Disorders During Pregnancy

Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, including preeclampsia, affect roughly 10 percent of women in the United States and can lead to serious complications for both mother and baby. Fortunately, Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) offers an award-winning comprehensive program to care for women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.

“We want the best for both mother and baby, so we have really focused our research on what we can do to improve outcomes for women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy,” says Meredith Rochon, MD, Chief, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

LVHN’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB-GYN) received the HHS Hypertension Innovator Award for its submission “Comprehensive Program for Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy.” The submission outlined the innovative ways women with hypertension during pregnancy and/or postpartum receive appropriate monitoring and follow-up care. 

Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN)’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB-GYN) was recently recognized for seeking innovative ways to care for women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and awarded a $100,000 grant to develop a home-based care program for women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.

For this particular submission, the team had to demonstrate evidence-based approaches to screening and treating hypertensive disorders, especially among populations that may experience disparities in care, including racial/ethnic and/or urban/rural disparities. The award also came with a $50,000 stipend to help develop the program.

Additionally, the LVHN Department of OB-GYN submitted a proposal to Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) 2021-2022 Innovation Grant, titled “Development of a Remote Patient Monitoring Pilot Program to Improve Cost and Patient Satisfaction for the Management of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy.”

This proposal was awarded the full $100,000 grant available to develop a home-based care program for pregnant women with hypertensive disorders who otherwise might have needed hospitalization.

The program is being implemented over the next few months.

“Lengthy hospitalizations have always been a challenge for our mothers, some of whom are leaving at home other children, significant others, even pets. The visitation restrictions that have occurred as a result of the pandemic have made this issue even more challenging. While maintaining high-quality care and safety for mother and newborn, select patients will now be able to remain in the comfort of their home,” says Rochon.