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In the weeks following childbirth, mothers must adapt to plunging hormones, recover from birth and learn how to feed and care for a new infant. Amid these challenges, moms receive minimal support from the healthcare system. Postpartum visits are typically scheduled four to six weeks after birth, leaving moms to cope on their own for…
This past week I was sick. Not just the sick where you feel crummy for a couple of days and get better with some rest, but sick enough that I had to see a doctor—any doctor—because I couldn’t wait for mine to have an opening. As I was called back by the nurse, I knew…
The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle is a fundamental tool in the quality improvement tool belt. PDSA cycles are used to test, implement and spread change ideas in a systematic way. Regardless of your improvement framework—collective impact, the breakthrough series, etc.—PDSAs can be used. Here are five tips for testing to optimize your next PDSA cycle. Avoid…
Changing a habit is not easy, even when you know it is “good for you.” The same goes for changing healthcare systems. The benefits of breastfeeding are well known, and supported by the World Health Organization, the Joint Commission, and many other healthcare accreditation and oversight agencies and experts. However, many hospitals struggle to create…
Safe sleep messages are often contradicted in advertising. Magazines have images of babies sleeping on their stomachs and surrounded by stuffed animals and loose blankets. Furniture sections of baby stores are filled with cribs with matching bumper sets and newborn quilts. This culture of mixed messages not only confuses parents, according to a recent study…
In grade school, where seats were assigned alphabetically, Kira Baldonado, whose maiden name started with a Z, always sat at the back of the classroom. She couldn’t see well, but she didn’t know that. She had no base of comparison. It wasn’t until second grade that Baldonado had an eye exam, was diagnosed with a…
Leadership support is a necessary foundation to any change effort. Without it, change agents find it nearly impossible to get the required resources and attention needed to move forward. How do you get that critical support? NICHQ recently asked Melanie Mouzoon, MD, a Pediatric Hospitalist and the Chair of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative at the…
The growing demand for maternal and child health services and support, coupled with stagnant or shrinking resources, is causing state health departments to find creative ways to do more with less. Many states are leveraging home visiting programs as a convenient way to spread important information and strategies related to safe sleep practices, a key…
Turns out, size may not matter. Small rural hospitals in New York State are experiencing as much, if not more, success in implementing evidenced-based practices to improve maternity care practices as their bigger suburban and urban counterparts. United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, NY, is one of 13 hospitals participating with NICHQ in the New…
Hosting a Department of Applied Research and Evaluation at NICHQ, we are huge proponents of evaluation. The reason is simple: projects may sound compelling and seem worthwhile, but it is hard to know if they actually achieve their goals without collecting data and conducting an evaluation. Evaluation data provides a window into whether, why and…