Hospitals in Action >> Case Examples

WOMAN'S HOSPTIAL, Baton Rouge, LA
Perinatal HIV: Know Your Status, Protect Your Baby

What is it?
Several internal and external initiatives to ensure that women know their HIV status and that babies born to an HIV-positive mother receive the most up-to-date preventative treatment. Initiatives include providing information and education through patient classes, articles in the hospital's magazine, physician education, staff education, case management, and hospital protocols. Brochures and teaching materials are distributed at various outreach programs in the community.

Who is it for? 
Women of childbearing age (18 to 45) in Woman's Hospital's primary service area and babies born at Woman's Hospital.

Why do they do it?
Baton Rouge ranked third in 2004 for number of AIDS cases per 100,000 among the large metropolitan areas in the nation. Without intervention, as many as 20-30 percent of HIV-infected pregnant women could transmit the virus to their infants. With appropriate use of antiretroviral medication, and cesarean section if indicated, the rate of transmission can be reduced to 1-2 percent. The initiation of such interventions begins with identification of a woman's HIV status.

Contact: Sherry Fontenot Poss
Director of Managed Care
Telephone: 225-231-5560
Email: sherry.poss@womans.org