University of Chicago Medicine Perinatal Network

As the hub of a state-designated regional network, the University of Chicago Medicine Perinatal Center spearheads the implementation of plans to improve health outcomes in high-risk pregnancy and infant care. Our perinatal network was organized in 1976 to make maternal-fetal and neonatal care more widely accessible as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce infant mortality rates in targeted communities.

Originally established to serve the South Side of Chicago, the University of Chicago Medicine Perinatal Network's 12 institutions now receive referrals for the highest level of complex maternal-fetal and neonatal care from hospitals in Cook, DuPage, Will, Kankakee and Kane counties in Illinois, and Lake County in Indiana.

The network offers a range of services in the metro Chicago region, including:

• Administration and implementation of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Regionalized Perinatal Health Care Program
• 24/7 transport services for high-risk obstetric and infant care
• 24/7 consultation services for obstetric and neonatal care
• Weekly transport, patient follow-up and discharge summary information
• Professional educational outreach opportunities for nurses and physicians provided by obstetric and neonatal nurse educators and maternal-fetal medicine physicians
• Quarterly perinatal morbidity and mortality reviews with network hospitals
• Individual network hospital site reviews every three years to evaluate perinatal services, resources and patient outcomes
• Guidance and support of quality improvement initiatives
• Data collection and analysis