WEEKLY UPDATE: 11/12/26
The First Steps in Shaping the Statewide Urgent Maternal Warning Signs Bracelet Initiative
The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) continues the new Hospital Spotlight Series* with Hartford HealthCare and Trinity Health Of New England’s joint Urgent Maternal Warning Signs Postpartum Bracelet Initiative. The individuals who spearheaded the Hartford-based program played central roles in shaping and executing CHA’s statewide Connecticut Urgent Maternal Warning Signs Bracelet Initiative, which launched in the fall of 2025.
The Hartford HealthCare and Trinity Health Of New England initiative began as a collaborative, community-wide effort to improve postpartum safety by ensuring all birthing patients leave the hospital with a visible, standardized reminder of life-threatening maternal warning signs and clear guidance on when and how to seek urgent care.
Maternal morbidity and mortality remain critical public health concerns in Connecticut, with a significant proportion of severe maternal complications occurring in the postpartum period and often outside the hospital setting. Many patients report uncertainty about which symptoms require urgent medical attention once they return home. Hartford HealthCare and Trinity Health Of New England collaborated to develop the Postpartum Bracelet Initiative to address this gap through a simple but innovative intervention: a bright orange bracelet in combination with education on the maternal warning signs and reinforcing the importance of seeking immediate care. The initiative targets postpartum patients and their support systems, improving recognition of danger signs such as severe headache, chest pain, shortness of breath, heavy bleeding, and signs of infection. It also acts as a visual cue to first responders and healthcare professionals that the person seeking care has recently given birth.
Through a partnership between Hartford HealthCare and Trinity Health Of New England, the initiative was intentionally expanded beyond a single institution to ensure consistent messaging and broad coverage across the Hartford community.
The hospital systems designed and implemented education in their respective institutions, training women’s health and emergency personnel, emergency medical services, and community members. This program was expanded with the guidance of the Connecticut Perinatal Quality Collaborative and CHA to develop a toolkit and purchase bracelets for statewide implementation.
The Postpartum Bracelet Initiative has since led to the statewide Connecticut Urgent Maternal Warning Signs Bracelet Initiative, which is now operating in all birthing hospitals across the state.
This information was submitted jointly by Hartford HealthCare and Trinity Health Of New England for consideration for the 2026 Connecticut’s Hospital Community Service Award. The 2027 CHA Annual Awards are now open for submissions through January 13, 2027. Click here to learn more and enter.
*Connecticut hospitals and health systems are constantly developing and implementing innovative, collaborative approaches to care to meet the evolving needs of their patients and communities. Through the Hospital Spotlight Series, CHA will showcase initiatives that are transforming care delivery, advancing health equity, and elevating the world-class, high-quality care for which Connecticut is known. Each spotlight offers a closer look at one of the countless programs underway across the state. Click here to read the latest spotlight articles, or visit caringforct.org.
