Hypertension Initiative Faculty Lead, MHealth Fairview

Dr. Sabol received her Obstetrics & Gynecology training at Oregon Health & Science University and completed her Maternal-Fetal Medicine training at Washington University in St. Louis. She is now full-time faculty at the University of Minnesota/MHealth Fairview. Her career focus is centered on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and quality improvement and implementation science in obstetrics. She is currently receiving her Master’s in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her experience with quality improvement started as a resident working on a multidisciplinary effort to improve communication and patient outcomes in the setting of unplanned cesarean deliveries. During her fellowship, to combat high postpartum readmission rates and to improve maternal outcomes, she implemented a postpartum home blood pressure monitoring system for all hypertensive patients delivered at that institution. She is eager and excited to work towards improving access, quality, and healthcare equity for birthing people in our state.

HTN Faculty Lead, CentraCare

Melissa has been working in obstetrical nursing for the past 20 years at a variety of facilities, from the small community hospital, to a large urban obstetrical care unit. She has worked as a Charge RN, a circulator, scrub and assist in the OR. Her current work as a Nurse Clinician began in August of 2013 at CentraCare Health, St. Cloud Hospital. Melissa is a part of the Molnlycke Speaker’s Bureau. She is a former Perinatal Expert Consultant with the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA), and serves on the MHA Perinatal Safety Committee. Melissa serves on the Minnesota Perinatal Quality Collaborative and the Maternal Mortality Review Committee through the Minnesota Department of Health. Melissa is a 2012 Graduate of Western Governors University with a Master’s in Nursing Education. She is a present member of ANA, AWHONN, MOLN, AORN, ASPAN and Sigma Theta Tau professional nursing organizations, and serves as the current AWHONN Minnesota state chair. She was featured in “The Call of Nursing” written by William Patrick.

MNPQC Executive Branch

Anne Walaszek, MPH (Anishinaabe) is the Maternal and Child Health Quality Improvement Specialist in the Women and Infant Health Unit at the Minnesota Department of Health. In her role, she leads two quality improvement grants, the Perinatal Quality Collaborative and the Communities Collaborating to Prevent Girls Opioid Abuse. Ms. Walaszek has experience working at a national non-profit addressing cancer inequities within American Indian and Alaska Native communities. In this role, she provided leadership for a clinic and community health approach to develop and implement culturally tailored evidence-based interventions to effectively build capacity in health systems across Indian Country. Her public health experience reflects grant writing, program development, research and data management throughout her experiences at the Minnesota Department of Health Diabetes Program, Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, and SAMHSA for their Child, Adolescent and Family Branch. She is a 2017 recipient of the Lou Fuller Award for Distinguished Service in Eliminating Health Disparities.

MPO/MNPQC Executive Director

Susan has been a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Women’s Health for over 30 years. She has a long history with MPO as a volunteer, conference presenter, planning committee member, and has served on the Board of Directors. She is currently the MPO Executive Director and Co-Director of the Minnesota Perinatal Quality Collaborative (MNPQC).

She enjoys the outdoors, hiking and kayaking, and loves the solitude of their cabin in the Boundary Waters.

MNPQC Faculty

Dr. Stanhope is a full-time OB/GYN hospitalist and medical director of Women and Children’s services at North Memorial Health Hospital. His clinical interests include hypertension, complex deliveries, and postoperative opioid prescribing. Prior to his current position, he provided contracted OB coverage at a number of facilities, high and low volume, in several states and completed two missions to South Sudan with Doctors Without Borders from which he gained invaluable experience learning the myriad needs and challenges different facilities and systems face.

Jane Taylor is an Improvement Advisor and Learning Designer. She supports learning collaboratives and innovation projects by providing expertise in improvement approaches and measurement. Since 2016, Jane has provided quality improvement expertise for MN Perinatal Association and MNPQC on Preventing Preterm Births, Hypertension in
Pregnancy and Postpartum Care, The Early Hearing Diagnosis Initiatives, and the MOSTaRE Opioid Project. Currently she severs on the Data Committee and the Steering Committee.

Jane has dedicated the last 22 years of her profession career to improving lives for newborns, infants, children and birthing people. For fun she is an amateur violinist and ballroom competitor. She enjoys sailing on Lake Pepin in the summer with her husband and their dog, Pepper.