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2026 Perinatal Improvement Summit Schedule

(talk titles and order subject to change)
  • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    7:00 AM – 8:00 AM – Breakfast, Registration, Visit with Sponsors


    8:00 AM – 8:15 AM – Welcome


    8:15 AM – 9:15 AM – Opening Plenary

    • From Findings to Action: Lessons from Minnesota’s MMRC 5-Year Report
      • Cresta Jones, MD | MHealth Fairview

    9:15 AM – 9:35 AM – Break, Visit with Sponsors & Poster Presentations


    9:35 AM – 10:35 AM – Breakout Presentations 1

    • 1A: Families at the Center: Community-Based Programs Leading the Way
      • TBD
    • 1B: Crash Course: CUES Intervention
      • Julia Tindell, MPH | Minnesota Department of Health
    • 1C: Driving Change: Strategies to Improve Postpartum Hemorrhage Rates
      • Stephanie Fieldseth | North Memorial Health
      • Jill Adams, RN, BSN | North Memorial Health
      • Leslie Carranza, MD, MHS | Mayo Clinic Rochester

    10:35 AM – 10:55 AM – Break, Visit with Sponsors & Poster Presentations


    10:55 AM – 11:55 AM – Breakout Presentations 2

    • 2A: Bridging the Gap: Collaborative Strategies and Adaptability in Minnesota’s Perinatal Mental Health Landscape
      • Tolu Odebunmi, MD, MPH | Women’s Wellbeing Program, University of Minnesota
      • Claire Drom, MD | CentraCare
    • 2B: Plans of Safe Care Panel
      • Hannah Burton, LISW, JD | Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families
    • 2C: Improving Recognition and Response to Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy
      • Rachel Pilliod, MD | Allina
      • Lauren Witty, MPH | Minnesota Perinatal Quality Collaborative

    11:55 AM – 1:00 PM – Lunch & Visit with Sponsors


    1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Breakout Presentations 3 

    • 3A: The Broken System of Perinatal Mental Health
      • Sogand Ghassemi, MD | PrairieCare
      • Lisa Cross, LMFT, PMH-C | PrairieCare
    • 3B: Support Strategies for Health Care Professionals as Second Victims
      • Enid Rivera-Chiauzzi, MD | Mayo Clinic Rochester
    • 3C: Mapping the Gaps and Closing the Loops: Strengthening Screening, Referral, and Follow-Up for Whole-Person Maternal Care
      • Nicole Kahielani Peltzer, MPH | Department of Human Services/State of Minnesota
      • Sarah Gareau, DrPH, MEd, MCHES | Department of Human Services/State of Minnesota

      2:00 PM – 2:20 PM – Break, Visit with Sponsors & Poster Presentations


      2:20 PM – 3:20 PM – Breakout Presentations 4

      • 4A: Generational Healing in a Mother-Baby Program for Families Affected by Substance Use: Keeping Babies in Mind
        • Gretchen Buchanan, PhD, LMFT, LADC | Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute
        • Jesse Flynn, LICSW, IMH-E® | Hennepin Healthcare
        • Lauren Graber, MD, MPH | Hennepin Healthcare
      • 4B: Step Up Together Action Collaborative: Improving Home Birth & Birth Center to Hospital Transfer Through Interdisciplinary Simulation
        • Kate Saumweber Hogan, CPM, LM | Twin Cities Midwifery, Roots Birth Center, & Snuggle House Foundation
        • Amy Romano, MBA, MSN, CNM, FACNM | Primary Maternity Care
        • Charles Sloan III, Nationally Registered Paramedic | Hennepin Healthcare/Hennepin EMS
        • Ann Forster Page, DNP, APRN, CNM, FACNM | University of Minnesota Medical School
      • 4C: Every Minute Counts: Optimizing Urgent Cesarean Team Response
        • Becky Gams, MS, APRN, BC-WHNP, cEFM, FAWHONN | Fairview Health Services
        • Cassie Thompson, BSN, RN | Fairview Health Services
        • Kristina Olson, BSN | University of Minnesota Medical Center

      3:20 PM – 3:40 PM – Break, Visit with Sponsors & Poster Presentations


      3:40 PM – 4:40 PM – Closing Plenary

      • Leading Through Crisis: Community-Centered Leadership During Times of Unrest
        • Cinthia Rodriguez Navin, DNP, PHN, RN | MHealth Fairview
        • Diane Tran, CPPM
        • Eileen Copisky