Reflections from the 2026 NNPQC Annual Meeting
The National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (NNPQC) hosted its 2026 Annual Meeting on May 13-15 in New Orleans, LA. The meeting brought together state Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (PQCs) to explore the theme, “Navigating a Path Forward: Advancing Perinatal Quality through Data, Collaboration, and Innovation,” in recognition of three essential drivers of progress in shaping a healthier future for mothers and babies.
As the coordinating center for the NNPQC, NICHQ works to enhance the coordination and communication of PQCs across the nation, advise state PQCs that are in early stages of developing their collaboratives, and give technical assistance focused on quality improvement (QI) methods that improve perinatal health outcomes.
During the meeting, NICHQ Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Dr. Stacey Cunningham Penny, DrPH, MPH, MSW, emphasized that the roadmap for change may look different for each PQC, but PQCs continue to test new approaches, strengthen partnerships, use data to ask harder questions, and share lessons learned to help drive improvements.
“Navigating a path forward in maternal and infant health will require all of us — learning from one another, partnering differently, innovating together, and being even more curious to transform our approaches, our organizations, and healthcare systems to move this work forward. And that is exactly what the 2026 NNPQC Annual Meeting theme calls us to do,” said Dr. Cunningham Penny.
This year’s event began with a Pre-meeting Workshop, hosted by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, that focused on designing high impact perinatal quality projects. Following the workshop attendees were invited to join a Partner Welcome Reception where they connected with other PQCs and partners to ask questions and share new strategies, resources, and tools.
Dr. Michael Warren, MD, MPH, FAAP, Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) at the March of Dimes, delivered a keynote address titled “Staying the Course: Advancing Maternal and Child Health in a Shifting Landscape.” During his remarks, Dr. Warren highlighted the history of maternal and child health and offered PQCs practical insights and honest perspective for communicating impact and effectively preserving critical partnerships.
The meeting also included daily plenary sessions, poster sessions showcasing each PQC’s current initiatives and progress toward its goals, and breakout sessions focused on topics such as data, quality improvement, and community partnerships. The sessions provided PQCs an opportunity to share both challenges and successes and help one another explore new strategies.
“We all have so much to share across our work,” said Shannon Pursell, MPH, Director of the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative. “Maybe your challenge is somebody else’s success. The answers are in this room.”
Dr. Veronica Gillispie Bell, MD, MAS, FACOG, Director of the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative, closed the 2026 Annual Meeting by highlighting the importance of PQCs and encouraging attendees to take the lessons learned from the meeting to continue making improvements across the country.
“As PQCs, our existence is vital. Our work may look different, our barriers may look different, but we’ve done difficult before.” Dr. Gillispie-Bell.
The National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives is a five-year cooperative agreement funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To learn more about the NNPQC and the important work of state PQCs, visit www.nnpqc.org.
