The organization uses a multidisciplinary approach to achieve its goal of increasing the epidural neuraxial labor analgesia usage rate by 10% by establishing 10 obstetric anesthesia training centers over a 10 year period (by 2018). NPLD-GHI assists local hospitals in the establishment of self-sustaining obstetric anesthesia services to provide safe and effective neuraxial labor analgesia and become part of team-based medicine in modern labor & delivery suites.
No Pain Labor & Delivery – Global Health Initiative (NPLD-GHI) is a not-for-profit organization operated by ApgarCARE® International Inc.. It was founded in 2006 by anesthesiologist Ling-Qun Hu, MD while he was at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. The program focuses on correcting the unnecessarily high cesarean delivery rate and improving the poor utilization of neuraxial labor analgesia in the world and started in China. With 24/7 availability of anesthesia services in labor & delivery suites, multidisciplinary approached Evidence-Based Care Bundles, and therefore, improvements in maternal and baby safety become feasible.
The first trip was launched in Dr. Hu’s home city, Hangzhou, China in 2008. NPLD-GHI uses annual one-week visits with daily goals and bedside education; daily debriefing and conferences; and patient education books and social media education in professional forums and Journal of No Pain Labor & Delivery – Global Health Initiative. Impact studies have demonstrated that educational intervention has significantly improved maternal and neonatal outcomes with its sustainable effectiveness.
By the end of 2018, a total of 99 Chinese hospitals were visited by over 700 volunteer health care professionals and translators from all over the world. The new era after the first 10 years of NPLD-GHI to China will be focusing more on Evidence-Based Care Bundles with newer ApgarCARE® projects in addition to “Modern Labor & Delivery Suites (MLADS) -Infrastructural Development Project” including:
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- Advanced Project (MLAD-AP) emphasizing obstetric anesthesia
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- Patient Safety & Quality Care Project (MLADS-PSQC, aka ApgarCARE® Accreditation Project )
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- ApgarCARE® Maternal Mental Health Project (ApgarCARE®-MMH Project)
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- ApgarCARE® Baby First Project (ApgarCARE®-BF)
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- ApgarCARE® Simulation Training Project (ApgarCARE® -SIM²)
The trip in 2020 will be from June 6 (Saturday, ARRIVAL date) to June 14 (Sunday, DEPARTURE date from China). Details of the hospitals and cities for the 2020 NPLD-GHI trip to China is available under the 2020 trip pageand dates
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