MARIA SLIWINSKI, MHHS, BSN, RN, CNOR

Maria Sliwinski doesn’t just talk about quality improvement; she builds systems that make it possible. As the OB/Perinatal Quality Coordinator at Mercy Health Youngstown, Maria supports both SEB (St. Elizabeth Boardman) and SJW (St. Joseph Warren) hospitals, bringing a steady, practical approach to improving care for moms and babies. Her work today is grounded in more than four decades of nursing experience, including time in surgical and perioperative settings, education, and now perinatal quality.

Maria began her career as a staff RN and later served as a Nurse Professional Development Coordinator, experiences that shaped her approach to patient care and team support. Over the past six years, she has focused on leading quality and performance improvement efforts in OB care, combining clinical insight with a strong understanding of systems and data. She also holds a master’s degree in health and human services, with concentrations in health administration and health education, and has shared her knowledge as an adjunct instructor at Youngstown State University.

Maria’s commitment to patient safety shows up in the details. She leads and participates in quality initiatives, committees, and presentations, consistently seeking ways to strengthen care processes. Most recently, she presented a poster on her team’s OB Quantified Blood Loss (QBL) journey at the 2025 AORN Congress, with the work set to be featured in the AORN Journal. Maria is also a recipient of the Clinical Excellence Award for her work improving surgical site infections, which has been recognized in both AORN and OR Manager publications.

At the heart of Maria’s work is a focus on making data more usable. Early in Mercy Health’s partnership with CHAMPS National, she saw an opportunity to better support the lactation team by moving breastfeeding and skin-to-skin data collection from manual to electronic processes. She partnered closely with her system’s data analytics team, including Carol Deniston, Genessa Lavine, and Chelly Taylor, to design, test, and implement new electronic reports. Together, the team created a more efficient, reliable way to track progress and use data to guide care improvements.

Maria shares: “It has been my pleasure to help and be a part of this wonderful OB team and to work for a hospital system that supports and encourages breastfeeding and skin-to-skin. Each department plays an integral role in promoting the evidence-based skin-to-skin and breastfeeding to benefit, support, and bond our newborns with their parents; from the immediate initiation of skin-to-skin in Labor and Delivery through the continued support of mom/baby, along with their fantastic lactation support team. It will be interesting to see the data moving forward to see the impact of this amazing team with this initiative among all demographics.”

Maria’s work is thoughtful, collaborative, and grounded in real-world impact. We’re grateful for the time, expertise, and care she brings to CHAMPS and to the families she serves.