Technology in group? | CenteringConnects

ssweeny
Active Member

Posts: 90

I work at a: Educational Institution
I am interested in Centering because: it is changing the lives of families and fixing a broken healthcare system.

Technology in group? Jul 31, 2015 10:27:41 GMT -5

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Post by ssweeny on Jul 31, 2015 10:27:41 GMT -5

Here is the latest news from Jamaica Hospital in NY, grantees from the March of Dimes to enhance CenteringPregnancy® at their site.

"Jamaica Hospital plans to enhance the Centering Pregnancy program by using an innovative approach to educate patients in a group-based setting that infuses mobile technology with traditional prenatal care. The hospital has partnered with SocialWellth to create interactive digital applications with specific content about preterm labor prevention. All Centering patients will be given tablets loaded with these applications as a tool to help guide them throughout their pregnancies.

Mitchell Cornett, administrator of Jamaica Hospital’s Ob/Gyn department expressed his excitement for the program launch in a recent interview, 'Jamaica Hospital is thrilled to be a partner in the March of Dimes’ Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait Program.' 'We are equally excited that we have successfully initiated group prenatal care. Mothers participating in the program are dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for their babies. By including the multifaceted concept of Centering Pregnancy as a growing part of our prenatal care services, Jamaica Hospital is fulfilling its goal of increasing the rate of full-term deliveries in the communities we serve.'"

For full article click here.

What do you think about using technology in group? Do you think this would be beneficial to your patients? Potential issues?

michellegoldaabc
TX - Texas Centering Consortium

Posts: 10

I work at a: Healthcare Facility
My job role is: Staff
I am interested in Centering because: I love seeing villages come together. I love seeing new parents uplift each other and continue to do so beyond the immediate postpartum time.

Technology in group? Jul 31, 2015 12:55:43 GMT -5 John Craine and ssweeny like this

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Post by michellegoldaabc on Jul 31, 2015 12:55:43 GMT -5

I think it sounds like a fantastic idea. One of our issues is retention from the discussions in Centering and sometimes I will email or post in their Facebook group topics relevant to our discussions. We also have a way to automatically send out emails to our patients and we are thinking of doing that at certain gestation weeks for our Centering patients...mainly about their options for birth and postpartum here at our center and more informative articles to compliment the Centering curriculum.

Potential issues with the tablets? Obviously, damage to or loss of a tablet would be the biggest concerns.

But other than that, I think it's a great way to empower patients to take responsibility for their own care and education!

Michelle Gold
Midwife Assistant
Centering Coordinator
Austin Area Birthing Center, Inc

John Craine
Major Contributor

Centering offers a better patient care experience, improved health outcomes and lower costs of care.

Posts: 400
My job role is: Staff
I am interested in Centering because: Centering proves that HOW we engage with patients can have a profound impact on their health behaviors and outcomes.

Technology in group? Aug 1, 2015 5:33:55 GMT -5

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Post by John Craine on Aug 1, 2015 5:33:55 GMT -5

This is something we think about every day. On one hand, we want Centering to be technology agnostic so that it works equally as well in a major medical center in the U.S. as it does in a mud hut in Malawi. We don't want technology to interfere with group dynamics or process, but rather enhance the group process and support the efficacy of health care providers. As Michelle points out, Facebook is a very powerful tool for patient engagement and delivery of supplemental or reinforcing information. We love solutions that are both free and ubiquitous. But just like any tool, its effectiveness depends on how it's used and how engaged the patients are.

John Craine MS, MBA
Sr. Director of Strategy and Partnerships
Centering Healthcare Institute

maryalicegrady
New Member

Posts: 7

Technology in group? Aug 3, 2015 15:10:34 GMT -5 John Craine likes this

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Post by maryalicegrady on Aug 3, 2015 15:10:34 GMT -5

I am wondering if the tablets would actually be used in the Centering groups? If so, I would think that a Centering group guideline for groups with tablets might be that tablets are put away and turned off during the group discussion. Technology is always a great way to disperse and share information. But technology, ranging from cell phones to EMR, can interfere with conversations, interaction, and group discussion.

Wenonah (she/they)
In-House Trainers

Posts: 48

I work at a: Healthcare Facility
My job role is: Staff
I am interested in Centering because: ...it's about relationships and support being recognized as an essential component of health & Healthcare. The lasting connections created during the transformational year of pregnancy is an invaluable asset for new parents.

Technology in group? Aug 3, 2015 16:03:02 GMT -5 Tanya Munroe likes this

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Post by Wenonah (she/they) on Aug 3, 2015 16:03:02 GMT -5

We have a patient population consisting of parents who are mostly well educated and who always want more information. We have come up with a good way to centralize online resources for them. We are using a Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/erbwhc/ ) account that one of our staff created for our birth center. At times during a Centering Group we can use it to show a linked page or video. This is a curated resource that the staff refers to, so patients can easily find further reading backing up what we have discussed during a group. During group sessions we use it with a laptop connected to a large screen that everyone can see. It works well for graphics or videos. We use it for a brief period as a reference and then go back to group discussion.

Wenonah Michallet-Ferrier
Centering Program Coordinator
Certified Centering Facilitator
In-House Trainer