As a patient safety, quality of care improvement strategy, researchers have shown the effectiveness of rapid response teams to assess and stabilize patients, support staff caring for critical ill patients and assist with critical ill patient transfers when needed.(1,2) Although these teams have been successful in improving patient outcomes outside of the intensive care unit, the use of rapid response teams within the labor and delivery suite is not well documented.(3) As a patient safety initiative, a multi disciplinary committee identified unique challenges at our academic, high risk referral center due to multiple medical and obstetrical co-morbidities associated with our patients.  Quaternary centers such as our academic institution, serve as a regional referral for those mother and baby dyads with the highest clinical risk issues.
The purpose of our patient safety, quality improvement study was to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing a rapid response team within the labor and delivery suite. A sub-committee with constituents representing perinatology, anesthesiology, perinatal advanced practice and clinical nursing partnered with our hospital wide rapid response team (including a Hospitalist,  Trauma Surgeon, and Patient Safety Nursing Coordinator) to develop and implement a protocol for the use the hospital wide rapid response team within our labor and delivery unit. The challenges of implementing an innovative practice model resourcing expertise available within our hospital but outside of our women’s health  department will be described along with strategies used for successful implementation. 
 Data will be presented on the implementation of all rapid response occurrences for both patient outcomes and staff satisfaction.  Realizing that the need for a rapid response team represents a high risk but low volume occurrence, our data review is on going and will continue as we strive to improve our overall morbidity and mortality rates.  With the implementation of this innovative practice model, our departmental goal for our obstetrical patients is to decrease in the amount of codes and emergent patient transfers to other critical care departments. Preliminary data indicates improved patient outcomes and nurse satisfaction.  Lessons learned will be described.