Current
Initiatives

Leading change across the countrythumbnail image of Current Initiatives flyer

Working passionately alongside our partners for continuous improvement, we determine the best strategies, methods and tools to achieve measurable goals. Our work with multidisciplinary teams—from health professionals to community stakeholders and patients and families—enables deep engagement that leads to transformative change in children’s health systems. Check out some of our featured projects below.


View our complete list of current projects >

View projects by health topic >

Download a PDF summary of our current initiatives >

Equity Systems Continuum

NICHQ has developed an evidence-informed conceptual framework known as the Equity Systems Continuum to describe and define the systems that individuals and organizations currently operate within. At the end of this initiative, organizations will be able to identify where they are on the continuum by utilizing an Equity Systems Auditing Tool (ESAT). Learn more >

Increasing Awareness about Newborn Screening

NICHQ is working to develop and maintain educational information on newborn screening for the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Newborn Screening Clearinghouse website to increase awareness about the critical importance of newborn screening. Learn more >

Promoting Safe Sleep and Breastfeeding

NICHQ leads a national effort to increase infant caregiver adoption of safe infant sleep practices as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), as well as breastfeeding, by empowering champions for these protective behaviors within systems that serve families at risk. Learn more >

National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives

NICHQ works to enhance the coordination and communication of perinatal quality collaboratives across the nation, with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes for mothers and newborns. Learn more >

Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes

An initiative studying the long-term effects of environmental exposures on children who are treated in neonatal intensive care units. Learn more >

New York State Maternal and Child Health Collaboratives

NICHQ leads efforts to improve the care in New York’s perinatal care centers and create promising interventions to address challenges in current systems of care. Learn more >

Supporting Healthy Start Performance Project

NICHQ and the National Healthy Start Association are providing a comprehensive capacity-building assistance training program for 101 Healthy Start programs nationwide. The training program includes technical assistance on high-priority topics, such as safe sleep, fatherhood, and breastfeeding, and training for program staff on core competencies. Learn more >

Improving Care for Children with Special Healthcare Needs

NICHQ is leading a learning and action network (LAN) for seven SNAQ teams to support a high-quality system of care in Florida that serves all children and youth with special healthcare needs, regardless of insurance status and location. Learn more >

Improving Sickle Cell Disease Care - Hemoglobinopathies Coordinating Center

NICHQ, with partner organization Abt Associates, is supporting a Hemoglobinopathies National Coordinating Center (NCC) to help SCD treatment demonstration program grantees — including community and federally qualified health centers — address structural and systemic barriers in their regions and implement evidence-based SCD care. Learn more >

What People Say

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

Pamela Berens, MD-Project Faculty

I was very hesitant about quality improvement in the beginning but NICHQ reformed me. I have been working within our region and our state with health partners for years, but we have made more progress working with NICHQ through your learning process and collaboration than with any other group.
SmileyFace

Ed Dzedzy-Project Participant

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.
SmileyFace

Lisa Kennedy, BSN, RN, IBCLC-Project Participant

Participating in NICHQ's Improving Children's Vision project has facilitated a rich opportunity to pursue robust quality improvement strategies to enhance early childhood vision health in Wyoming. [We] appreciate the expertise provided by the leadership team and the opportunity to share ideas and feedback with other states in the Collaboratory.
HannahGinn

Hannah Ginn-Project Participant

I am so impressed by the processes that the NICHQ staff use so well to enable teams in many different locations to learn and share, to practice QI processes, to support and inspire each other. NICHQ helps busy people find time to do important and difficult work that improves clinical practice, and to sustain the changes they themselves developed. I’m lucky to have been connected to NICHQ!
ElizabethCrockett

Elizabeth G. Crockett, PhD, RD, CDN, CLC-Project Participant