The purpose of this application to CDC-RFA-DP22-2207 Component A is to use the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative (ILPQC) proven approach based on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Breakthrough Series and well-established collaborative infrastructure to facilitate statewide quality improvement (QI) with over 85% of Illinois delivery hospitals. The expected outcomes of this application are: (1) Increase implementation of QI initiatives in facilities statewide, including those that serve disproportionately impacted people, through targeted engagement, outreach and QI support to hospitals, utilizing strategies and lessons learned from other PQCs; (2) Increase implementation of QI initiatives to reduce disparities through community engagement and enhancements to the ILPQC Data and Reporting System to facilitate hospital utilization of key outcome measures by race, ethnicity and insurance status across all initiatives; (3) Improve healthcare practices equitably through implementation of the obstetric Birth Equity Initiative. In years 1-2, participating hospitals will implement evidence based key strategies to promote birth equity, reducing bias and improving quality of care as a critical lever to improve maternal outcomes. Hospitals teams will work to stratify maternal quality measures by race and ethnicity, screen for social determinants of health and link to needed resources, improve respectful care, engage patients and community in QI work and promote implicit bias and respectful care education for all staff. In years 3-5 ILPQC hospital teams will set up structures and processes to sustain Birth Equity Improvements. In addition, ILPQC stakeholders, including patient and community partners, will help select an initiative to develop and implement from three leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality: cardiovascular conditions in pregnancy, maternal mental health, and postpartum discharge transitions.
