This opening session will dive into the AIM Obstetric Emergency Readiness Resource Toolkit, outlining the 5 R’s, defining key components of readiness, and assessing facility-level current-state readiness. The session will focus on the challenges unique to rural settings and provide actionable strategies for navigating staffing and transfer capacity issues, communities without access to maternity care, and low-volume delivery settings.

Recognition of obstetrical emergencies is a key component of quality care. This session will discuss maternal early warning criteria (MEWS/MEWT), recommended escalation pathways, and provide strategies to implement documentation and communication triggers. Through this discussion, participants will be provided with actionable strategies to improve emergency recognition and response, especially within Emergency Department settings.

This session will explore strategies to strengthen team coordination through clearly defined roles, structured communication tools such as prebriefs, huddles, and debriefs, as well as low-dose, high-frequency simulation practices that build confidence and readiness. Participants will identify opportunities to improve role clarity within their own teams and engage in interactive activities designed to practice coordinated emergency response in a supportive learning environment.

This session will focus on strategies for standardizing hemorrhage readiness through organized hemorrhage carts, timely access to first- and second-line medications and blood products, and the use of checklists and visual aids to support clinical decision-making during emergencies. Participants will review practical examples from established quality improvement initiatives, discuss approaches to optimizing supply organization within their own settings, and collaborate on tools that promote consistent, reliable emergency preparedness.

This session will highlight evidence-informed strategies for the initial stabilization of obstetric hemorrhage, hypertensive emergencies, and sepsis, while emphasizing structured communication and standardized transfer workflows. Participants will examine best practices for collaborating with emergency medical services (EMS) and referral centers, and work together to develop practical tools—such as transfer checklists and transfer packets—that promote safe, efficient transitions of care for pregnant and postpartum patients.

This session will have participants examine approaches to measuring readiness through process and outcome measures, fostering a culture of learning through structured debriefing, and integrating evidence-based practices into routine care. Through shared learning and reflection, teams will discuss lessons learned from their quality improvement work and identify strategies to sustain meaningful improvements in their organizations.