Myrtue Medical Center Establishes Maternal & Child Health Center of Excellence To Expand Care Access

Myrtue Medical Center announced the launch of its Maternal & Child Health Center of Excellence, a regional hub designed to unite specialized medical expertise, coordinated care, and community partnerships to improve access to high-quality OB/GYN care. These programs focus on specific areas of health and partner with surrounding hospitals, clinics, public health agencies, and community organizations to create a connected regional network that helps Iowans receive the specialty care they need close to home.

Transforming Rural Maternity Care

The Center of Excellence focuses on several key operational activities to enhance regional healthcare delivery:

• Care Coordination: Nurses guide patients through scheduling and referrals, ensure continuity of care, and help families overcome logistics like language and transportation.
• Outreach & Telehealth Expansion: Stabilizing and expanding OB/GYN outreach clinics in Audubon and Manning while launching telehealth capabilities for prenatal consultations, postpartum visits and lactation support.
• Emergency Readiness & EMS Integration: Equipping local EMS agencies with equipment and specialized neonatal and obstetric emergency training, simulation-based education, and standardized transport protocols for safe patient stabilization.
• Workforce Development: Recruiting obstetric providers and specialized nurses, supporting professional certifications, and exploring midwifery services to address rural healthcare shortages.
• Targeted Support for Underserved Populations: Enhancing language assistance for Sudanese and Hispanic communities, offering transportation support, and partnering with local public health programs to reduce missed appointments.

Success Story: Building Emergency Preparedness and Access

Myrtue Medical Center has already made measurable strides in rural maternal safety by leading hands-on OB emergency simulations with local EMS partners and deploying newborn emergency reference cards for ambulance crews. These tools have standardized critical care steps during high-risk deliveries and improved overall emergency readiness. Building on this work, Myrtue expanded OB and GYN outreach clinics in Manning and Audubon, increased maternal health staffing, and maintained access during rising birth volumes caused by regional obstetrical unit closures.

“I am grateful our Birthing Center was granted a Center of Excellence grant,” said Michele Monson, Myrtue Medical Center’s Birthing Center Director. “This opportunity allows us to expand our services and strengthens our commitment to provide mothers and newborns the best care possible.”

This project is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $209,040,063.71 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.