Perinatal Regionalization in California
The Regional Perinatal Programs of California (RPPC) evolved from the need for comprehensive, cooperative networks of public and private health care providers within geographic areas to promote the well-being of pregnant women and their babies. In the early 1980s the California Legislature mandated the development of a statewide network of perinatal regionalization. The goal was to match the needs of high risk perinatal patients with the appropriate type of care by developing a multi-tiered network of care providers and facilities within specific geographic areas.

RPPC Today
There are now 14 Title V funded RPPCs providing services to all areas of the State. The programs are designed to assist the California State Department of Health Services, Maternal and Child Health Branch (MCH) to ensure that pregnant women and newborns have access to appropriate levels of high quality care, to provide for safe and effective treatment of women and their babies before, during and after delivery, to meet the needs of the infants at risk for neonatal complications and to reduce the incidence of maternal death due to obstetric complications.

The regional programs serve as facilitators in coordinating and supporting perinatal quality improvement within their regions. RPPC staff obtain and disseminate needs assessment and outcome data; consult with individual facilities regarding perinatal programs and services; collaborate with county and state maternal and child health departments, managed care plans, and other perinatal and professional groups and agencies on how best to meet the needs of the perinatal community; develop methods, models and materials for use by perinatal providers; create and support education programs to address the needs of high risk mothers and infants in their regions; represent their regions in regional and state task forces; and work with other perinatal regions and the state to respond to needs identified across the regions.

The RPPCs have the flexibility, neutrality and credibility to bridge public and private sectors and to cross geographic boundaries. These programs offer the opportunity for multiple counties, hospitals, clinics, individual providers and health care plans to work collaboratively to identify common concerns. Services and linkages can then be planned cooperatively to address the needs of perinatal patients within each region.

Goals

RPPC programs address four basic Statewide Perinatal Goals:

• All children born healthy to healthy mothers.
• No health status difference among racial/ethnic, gender, economic and regional groups.
• A safe and healthy environment for women, children and their families.
• Equal access for all women, children and their families to appropriate and needed care within an integrated system.

Roles of the Perinatal Programs

• Promote quality, seamless perinatal systems of care through information exchange and collaboration among services providers, facilities, health plans, as well as State and local MCH programs.
• Perform perinatal assessment of regional and statewide significance (e.g.Perinatal Facilities Interviews) on evaluation of delivery sites of very low birthweight infants in California.
• Develop community networks among agencies, providers and individuals.
• Provide resource directories and referral services.
• Develop, publish, disseminate and/or provide technical assistance to interpret pertinent perinatal data to assist with program/service planning and evaluation (e.g. The Perinatal Profiles of California Regions and Hospitals).
• Develop statewide guidelines and tools to promote high quality, risk appropriate perinatal care (e.g. current task forces on In-Utero and Neonatal Transport, Education and Competency Assurance, and Clinical Quality Review.
• Develop and administer programs for priority populations such as the California Diabetes and Pregnancy Program, Sweet Success