Mission

Achieving better health outcomes for children

“We are a team of passionate and highly responsive experts and advisors who are wholly committed to pushing the boundaries on what is possible in order to make real and rapid change happen.”

Scott Berns, MD, MPH, FAAP
NICHQ President and CEO

Deep flaws in the systems responsible for children’s health perpetuate suffering for our nation’s children and their families. Among developed countries, the United States consistently remains among the worst performing on common indicators of well-being. While committed professionals and organizations nationwide work diligently for improvement, unfortunately, disparate efforts, poorly defined or misaligned initiatives, and social determinants affecting health make improvement a highly complex and challenging endeavor. This is where NICHQ’s expertise comes in.

We are a mission-driven nonprofit dedicated to driving dramatic and sustainable improvements in the complex issues facing children’s health. We are committed to building and managing effective change strategies that align partners and engage stakeholders to achieve better outcomes for children and their families. Every day, with the help of a network of exceptional and dedicated partners, we move closer to our vision of a world in which every child achieves optimal health.

Our strategic focus

NICHQ's 2020 strategic plan is an evolution in the direction NICHQ is taking to meet its mission and vision. The organization has always focused its impact in the healthcare arena. Now, we are expanding our impact to the population health level and the many touch points that support healthy children. This includes a focus on health equity and the significant needs and opportunities in addressing social determinants of health.

MISSION | Driving change to improve children's health

VISION | Every child achieves optimal health

WHAT WE DO

IMPROVEMENT

Uphold high-quality, data-driven program delivery that improves children's health outcomes

INNOVATION

Develop new methods and tools that translate NICHQ’s unique approach to population health

IMPACT

Address social determinants of health and their impact on health equity through our programs

INFLUENCE

Align organizations and stakeholders responsible for children’s health to address multifaceted systems problems using evidence-based quality improvement processes

CORE VALUES

We pursue shared goals with integrity and passion

We are bold, innovative thinkers and doers

We build strong and enduring relationships

We are exceptional listeners and nimble

Case Studies

Increasing Breastfeeding Rates

NICHQ led a nationwide quality improvement initiative aimed at increasing breastfeeding rates by helping hospitals improve maternity care to better support new mothers who choose to breastfeed. As a result, 80 percent of participating hospitals were designated as Baby-Friendly.

Promoting Socio-Emotional Development

NICHQ identified a series of promising levers for change and potential measures to track improvement in early childhood social and emotional development.

Reversing and Preventing Obesity

NICHQ brought together representatives from primary care providers, public health professionals and community-based organizations to identify, test and evaluate evidence-based program and policy changes to prevent and treat obesity at the community level.

What People Say

I want to tell you how much I have enjoyed and learned from all of you at NICHQ. You are enthusiastic, supportive, smart and FUN. You have talked me off the ledge many times when I wanted to quit. You are true leaders and passionate about what you do.

Lisa Kennedy, BSN, RN, IBCLC-Project Participant

NICHQ's team brought enthusiasm, structure and information about how to effectively implement change management to the project which has been key to the success of the collaborative. I continue to look forward to guidance and support from NICHQ for similar projects in the future.

Pamela Berens, MD-Project Faculty

Being involved with NICHQ has been a career-changing and life-altering experience in many ways. Quality improvement methodology is not additive to my work, it influences how I do my daily work.

Elizabeth Seeliger, AUD-Project Participant

Although I work with data every day, NICHQ gave me the tools to look at data through a different lens in order to support change and improve quality for newborn screening.

Sarah McKasson, MPH-Project Participant

Through the Infant Mortality CoIIN, NICHQ has found effective ways to engage all states around six areas of effort to reduce infant mortality and improve birth outcomes. With the support of NICHQ staff and expert consultants, state maternal child health leaders are learning to use traditional quality improvement and innovative approaches to maximize the leadership roles, and to use a health equity lens in this work.

Kay Johnson-Project Faculty