Perinatal Nurse Leaders Council Fact Sheet

The Perinatal Nurse Leaders Council (PNLC) was established in the 1990's to provide a forum for perinatal nursing leadership in San Diego and Imperial Counties. The PNLC consists of appointed representatives from various birthing facilities and the Regional Perinatal System (RPS). Separate forums are scheduled for clinical and management issues. The PNLC strives to have all healthcare organizations in San Diego and Imperial Counties be knowledgeable of local and state perinatal outcome data and implement evidenced based best practices aimed to improve the quality of perinatal care.

The PNLC’s mission is to improve perinatal healthcare through collaboration, advocacy, nursing leadership, and quality improvement strategies.

Objectives of the Perinatal Nurse Leaders Council are as follows:

1. Reinforce nursing care and best practice standards through education and other activities.

2. Identify and discuss relevant perinatal nursing issues effecting pregnancy care and outcomes.

3. Communicate perinatal health issues to hospital administration and local policy makers.

4 Develop and implement problem solving strategies and assess their effectiveness.

5. Collaborate with local organizations, non-profit boards, and public/private healthcare agencies.

6. Advocate for maternal and child health programs.

Recent activities have related to community clinical position statements, current perinatal literature, standards of care, education planning, high-risk assessment, birth certificate data, and March of Dimes initiatives (such as prematurity).

Meetings are held the third Friday of every month except for July and August. Meetings are confirmed by email and are subject to change. Agenda items can be submitted up to one week prior to meeting to mcarlson@ucsd.edu. The Chair position is voluntary and rotates every year beginning in September. For consistency, the Co-chair is the Director of RPS who supports the chair in PNLC related activities. Ad hoc committees are formed based on immediate needs and members areas of expertise.

Below is a meeting schedule for 2008.

Meetings are held at the RPS offfice located at: 9170 Camino Santa Fe, San Diego, CA 92121-2254. For more information about PNLC contact Regional Perinatal System at (858) 536-5090.