Welcome to OPQC

Mission

Through collaborative use of improvement science methods, reduce preterm births and improve outcomes of preterm newborns in Ohio as quickly as possible.

The Story (updated March 2009)

The Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative (OPQC) was born in early 2007. State partners include the OPQC Executive Committee, co-chaired by Jay Iams, MD and Edward Donovan, MD, the OPQC Steering Committee representing practitioners, policy makers, insurers and parents, the Center for Health Care Quality and the Child Policy Research Center at Cincinnati Children’s, the Ohio Department of Health’s Vital Statistics and Regional Perinatal Center programs, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, and the National Initiative for Child Healthcare Quality (NICHQ).

The first wave of funding comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Forty five clinical teams from 25 Ohio hospitals are participating in the first ‘Breakthrough series’ learning collaborative; 24 NICU teams are working to decrease catheter associated infection in infants 22-29 weeks gestation and 21 OB teams are endeavoring to decrease scheduled deliveries between 36 and 39 weeks gestation.

Ohio is working with and learning from a number of other states engaged in statewide perinatal improvement efforts. California, North Carolina, Tennessee, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Arkansas, New York, Michigan and Illinois have or are developing statewide collaboratives to improve birth outcomes.