The University of Alabama at Birmingham has received the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) designation of "Center of Excellence." The SOAP Center of Excellence (COE) designation was created to recognize institutions and programs that demonstrate excellence in obstetric anesthesia care and set a benchmark of expected care to improve standards nationally and provide a broad surrogate quality metric of institutions providing obstetric anesthesia care.  

"We are ecstatic to receive this designation for the Women and Infants Center at UAB. This was a collaborative effort through multiple departments, including Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nursing, and Pediatrics," said Mark Powell, M.D., medical director of the Obstetric Anesthesia Division. "Over the last several years, we have improved our practice, focusing on evidence-based medicine in a commitment to achieve the Center of Excellence designation. This designation reflects our commitment to providing the best care to our patients. We are dedicated to maintaining this high level of care for our obstetric patients and look forward to evolving our practice to reflect the current standards and evidence." 

As described by the Center of Excellence chair, Brendan Carvalho; "The criteria for COE designation cover various domains, including personnel and staffing; equipment, protocols, and policies; simulation and team training; obstetric emergency management; cesarean delivery and labor analgesia care; recommendations and guidelines implementation; and quality assurance and patient follow-up systems." 

"I am extraordinarily grateful to Mark Powell, M.D., and the OB anesthesia team that have made this a reality through their hard work and relentless perseverance," says Dan E. Berkowitz, MB, BCh, chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine. "The criteria for this designation are indeed rigorous, and our designation stands as a testament to the vision of the OB anesthesia team."