Maternal and infant health are two of the most critical indicators of a state’s health. In Colorado, disparities exist in perinatal health outcomes that correlate with racial, socio-economic, geographic, and other factors, leading to chronic stress and poor health and resulting in more adverse outcomes for historically marginalized populations. Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative (CPCQC) works to ensure that birthing individuals and their families receive culturally-relevant, safe, equitable, and high-quality care regardless of who they are or where they live. We lead systems change in Colorado’s perinatal health care facilities through equity-centered best practices, data-driven decision-making, and trauma-informed care.
CPCQC currently leads four active quality improvement (QI) initiatives that address high priority needs across Colorado’s perinatal population. These projects seek to screen, support, and treat pregnant and birthing people for substance use disorders (Colorado AIM Substance Use Disorder Learning Collaborative-CO AIM: SUD LC); screen and treat substance-exposed newborns and support parents in the process (Colorado Hospital Substance Exposed Newborns Collaborative-CHoSEN); increase parental engagement in their infant’s care during NICU stays (Data-Driven Engagement of Families to Improve the NICU Experience in Colorado-DEFINE Colorado); and reduce unnecessary cesarean sections in low-risk populations (Supporting Vaginal Delivery for Low-Risk Mothers-SOAR).
CPCQC has created a care network across clinical and community settings called Improve Perinatal Access, Coordination, and Treatment for Behavioral Health (IMPACT BH) to help families overcome behavioral health and social needs. As part of this work, CPCQC includes participating hospitals in the substance use and behavioral health QI projects mentioned above. CPCQC has also launched the Family Integration to ReStore Trust (FIRST) program, a two-phase, community-focused effort to train and integrate patient-family partners from diverse backgrounds into leadership committees and workgroups within our organization.
CPCQC is applying for CDC-RFA-DP22-2207 Component A funding to address the perinatal health care needs in Colorado by expanding QI projects across the state, creating and enhancing clinical and community linkages, and connecting projects that encompass the maternal-infant dyad, starting in high-need regions identified and selected based on perinatal health outcomes data with an emphasis on regions with inequitable outcomes for subpopulations. CPCQC will emphasize clinical-community linkages by establishing care networks that span prenatal, hospital, and postpartum needs and integrate health care delivery with community strategies that are developed and guided by those with lived experience.
Outcomes:
By September 29, 2023, CPCQC will:
● Increase overall participation of healthcare facilities participating in AIM SUD LC, CHoSEN, and DEFINE by 20%, specifically targeting facilities that serve disproportionately impacted pregnant and postpartum individuals, infants, and their families.
● Select one new perinatal QI initiative to begin implementation planning in 2024.
By September 29 2027, CPCQC will:
● Increase overall participation of healthcare facilities participating in one or more QI initiatives to at least 75% expanding its capacity to serve disproportionately impacted pregnant and postpartum individuals, infants, and their families.
