TexasAIM

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) partners with the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) and various other partners including the Texas Collaborative for Healthy Mothers and Babies (TCHMB), the Texas Hospital Association (THA), and the Preeclampsia Foundation to implement the TexasAIM Program. TexasAIM supports Texas birthing hospitals with technical assistance and collaborative learning to make quality improvement changes that lead to improved outcomes for mothers in our state.

Our goal is to end preventable maternal death and severe maternal morbidity and reduce disparities in these outcomes. TexasAIM guides Patient Safety Bundle implementation with support from a team of improvement advisors and expert faculty. Multidisciplinary hospital improvement teams work in their local settings to implement bundle elements.

What Is AIM?

AIM is a quality improvement initiative to support best practices that make birth safer, improve maternal health outcomes, and save lives. AIM is implemented in almost all 50 states by hospitals and communities across the country. AIM helps hospitals and communities improve maternal safety by working with state teams and health systems to implement best practices.

Find more information on AIM at AIM | Alliance for Innovation On Maternal Health (saferbirth.org).

TexasAIM Announces Two Faculty Membership Opportunities:

• TexasAIM Plus Sepsis in Obstetric Care Learning Collaborative Faculty Membership
• TexasAIM Implementation Mentor Member
• Application Deadlines

TexasAIM Plus Sepsis in Obstetric Care Learning Collaborative Faculty Membership

The Texas Department of State Health Services TexasAIM team is currently seeking applications for TexasAIM Plus Sepsis in Obstetric Care Learning Collaborative Faculty Members including:

Physician(s) specializing in:

• Obstetrics
• Maternal-Fetal Medicine 
• Obstetric Hospital Medicine
• Family Medicine/obstetric care
• Rural Medicine/obstetric care

Certified Nurse Midwives

Registered Nurse(s) specializing in:

• Obstetric Nursing/Maternal Health Nursing 

Physician(s) and Nurse(s) specializing in:

• Infectious Disorders
• Maternal Intensive Care
• Emergency Medicine/Emergency Care

TexasAIM Faculty serve an essential role within the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Breakthrough Series (BTS) Collaborative Model for Achieving Breakthrough Improvement. Faculty for BTS Learning Collaboratives faculty work together as part of a team and complete activities such as:

• Participate in regular TexasAIM planning and coordination calls to plan learning activities and discuss and coordinate hospital improvement teams’ informational and coaching needs
• Provide information on subject matter, application of that subject matter, and methods for process improvement, both during and between Learning Sessions and Action Period meetings
• Provide communication and teamwork strategies to keep hospital improvement teams and their members connected to colleagues and the Collaborative faculty
• Work with the TexasAIM team to assess progress and to assess learning and technical assistance needs of the hospital improvement teams
• Offer guidance, coaching and feedback to hospital improvement teams participating in the Learning Collaborative in coordination with the TexasAIM team

TexasAIM faculty serve in a voluntary capacity and are not DSHS employees. Reimbursement for travel expenses will be provided.  

The anticipated time commitment is equivalent to an average of 1-2 days per month and includes participation in planning phone calls and Action Period webinars, communication over email, and attendance as faculty at in-person two-day Learning Sessions in Summer 2025, Fall 2025 and Winter 2026.  

If you wish to be considered for the opportunity to serve as a faculty member for the TexasAIM Sepsis in Obstetric Care Learning Collaborative, please complete and submit the application listed below per the instructions. 

TexasAIM Plus Sepsis in Obstetric Care Learning Collaborative Application for Faculty Membership

PDF- Word Version

Note: Fillable forms are not supported on mobile or tablet devices. Please use a desktop PC or Mac to view or fill out the form.

Downloading or Saving a Form

1. Right Click for PC or Ctrl + Click for Mac on the PDF link and click Save link as from the menu.
2. Select the folder you want to save the file in and then click Save.
3. Navigate to the folder you saved the file in and Right Click for PC or Ctrl + Click for Mac, then select Open With from the menu:
   • Adobe Acrobat Pro 
   • Adobe Reader; or
   • Microsoft Word.

TexasAIM Implementation Mentor Members Application

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) TexasAIM Team is currently seeking applications for volunteers from across Texas’ 22 Perinatal Care Regions (within the state’s Regional Advisory Councils) to serve as TexasAIM Implementation Mentor Members, including:

Physician(s) specializing in:

• Obstetrics
• Maternal-Fetal Medicine 
• Obstetric Hospital Medicine
• Family Medicine/obstetric care
• Rural Medicine/obstetric care

Registered Nurse(s) specializing in:

• Obstetric Nursing/Maternal Health Nursing 

Certified Nurse Midwives

Multidisciplinary support and clinician engagement is integral to patient safety bundle success. The Texas DSHS TexasAIM Program is currently recruiting TexasAIM Implementation Mentors to form regional teams of nurse and physician or Certified Nurse Midwife pairs. With training from the TexasAIM leadership team, TexasAIM Implementation Mentors will serve as patient safety bundle and simulation trained experts equipped with knowledge to help participating TexasAIM hospital teams robustly implement the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) maternal patient safety bundles.

*TexasAIM Implementation Mentors serve in a voluntary capacity and are not DSHS employees. The DSHS TexasAIM Program will provide reimbursement for certain approved travel expenses.

Anticipated time commitment is equivalent to an average of eight-hours per month plus four two-day in-person sessions over the two years of the planned program. Commitments include:

• Participating in monthly one-hour virtual meetings with the AIM leadership and faculty team
• Participating in two-day in-person TexasAIM Learning Sessions in Summer 2025, Fall 2025, and Winter 2026  
• Attending monthly TexasAIM Action Period calls (1.5 hours each)
• Completing a virtual quality improvement training including self-paced learning and interactive discussion sessions
• Participating in one in-person simulation train-the-trainer event
• Facilitating one in-person simulation training with TexasAIM hospital teams
• Facilitating regional peer meetings with hospitals in your region at least quarterly and as frequently as twice a month. (Meeting frequency is at the discretion of the TexasAIM Implementation Mentors, but we recommend once or twice a month.) 

If you wish to be considered for the opportunity to serve as a TexasAIM Implementation Mentor, please complete and submit the application listed below per the instructions.

TexasAIM Implementation Mentor Application for Faculty Membership

PDF - Word Version

Note: Fillable forms are not supported on mobile or tablet devices. Please use a desktop PC or Mac to view or fill out the form.

Downloading or Saving a Form

1. Right Click for PC or Ctrl + Click for Mac on the PDF link and click Save link as from the menu.
2. Select the folder you want to save the file in and then click Save.
3. Navigate to the folder you saved the file in and Right Click for PC or Ctrl + Click for Mac, then select Open With from the menu:
   • Adobe Acrobat Pro 
   • Adobe Reader; or
   • Microsoft Word.

Application Deadlines

Applications, accompanied by applicant’s résumés or curriculum vitae and letters of recommendation are due to TexasAIMFaculty@dshs.texas.gov as follows:

• Sepsis Faculty Applications are due by Friday, August 9, 2024. The TexasAIM team will not consider an application received after 11:59 PM CDT Friday, August 9, 2024.
  • Include TexasAIM Sepsis Faculty Application for <Name of Applicant> in the email subject line.

• Implementation Mentor Applications are due by Friday, August 23, 2024. The TexasAIM team will not consider an application received after 11:59 PM CDT Friday, August 23, 2024.
  • Include TexasAIM Implementation Mentor Application for <Name of Applicant> in the email subject line. 

If you have any questions about the application or TexasAIM, please contact us by email at TexasAIMFaculty@dshs.texas.gov.

AIM Patient Safety Bundles

An AIM Patient Safety Bundle is a collection of best practices for improving maternal care. Experts in the field vetted these practices to ensure their effectiveness. Each bundle focuses on a specific maternal health and safety topic. TexasAIM uses the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Breakthrough Series™ (BTS) Collaborative Model for Breakthrough Improvement as the foundation for the program. A BTS Collaborative is a vehicle for identifying, testing, and spreading changes that are effective for improving care and outcomes for defined populations.

Model components include the formation of local improvement teams; completion of prework; participation in interactive collaborative Learning Sessions; and engagement throughout Action Periods which include continued shared learning through action period calls and rapid-cycle Plan-Do-Study-Act tests of change implementation. The learning collaborative also includes regular data reporting and the use of data to drive improvement. This collaborative learning model supports accelerated improvement as hospital teams share successful implementation strategies across settings for the rapid adoption of new practices.

Since 2018, TexasAIM supports Texas hospitals by implementing the Obstetric Hemorrhage Bundle and piloting the Obstetric Care for Women with Opioid Use Disorder Bundle. Beginning in December 2020, TexasAIM is focused on the Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy Bundle. TexasAIM is also implementing Wave 1 of the Obstetric Care for Women with Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorder Innovation and Improvement Learning Collaborative, which is based on the AIM Care for Pregnant and Postpartum People with Substance Use Disorder Bundle.

• Find more information on the Obstetric Care for Women with Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorder Page. 
• Find more information on the Obstetric Hemorrhage Bundle on the Obstetric Hemorrhage Bundle page. 
• Find more information on the Severe Hypertension Bundle on the Severe Hypertension Bundle page. 

Texas Hospitals Enrolled in Texas AIM

Find a map of the hospitals enrolled in TexasAIM:

• HTN Enrollment Map - As of June 2023
• OBH Enrollment Map - As of December 2020
• OSUD Enrollment Map - As of July 2023

Getting Started

Any Texas birthing hospital can join the engaged and growing TexasAIM community. We provide help and can connect you to the AIM Patient Safety Bundles, tools, and data center. 

If you are interested in enrolling in TexasAIM to implement AIM Patient Safety Bundles in your hospital or would like more information, please email TexasAIM@dshs.texas.gov.

Upcoming Events and Webinars

Please visit our Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy and Obstetric Care for Women with Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorder pages for a list of upcoming events and webinars. Past webinars can be accessed on the Obstetric Hemorrhage Bundle page.

TexasAIM Bulletin

 Sign up for the TexasAIM newsletter to receive updates on TexasAIM.  

Commissioner Hellerstedt’s Letter Announcing TexasAIM

Former DSHS Commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt sent a letter to Texas birthing facilities in 2018 announcing the launch of TexasAIM.

View a copy of the letter.

Maternal Health & Safety Initiatives

Read about DSHS maternal health and safety initiatives including:

• The TexasAIM Initiative;
• The Maternal Health and Safety Awareness, Education, and Communication Campaign; and
• The High-Risk Maternal Care Coordination Services Program.

Download the 2020 and 2022 Maternal Health and Safety Initiatives Legislative Reports.