New York State Perinatal Quality Collaborative (NYSPQC)

Improving maternal and infant health in New York State.

Who We Are:

The New York State Perinatal Quality Collaborative (NYSPQC) is a nationally recognized initiative which engages a statewide network of birthing hospitals and centers that seek to provide the best, safest, and most equitable care for NYS' birthing people and infants. The NYSPQC was initiated in 2010 and is led by the New York State Department of Health's (NYSDOH) Division of Family Health (DFH).

What We Do:

The NYSPQC works to improve maternal and infant outcomes, reducing morbidity and mortality, by moving evidence-based and informed guidelines to action through intervention-specific projects. We work closely with state and national professional organizations and associations, community organizations, people with lived experience, and other partners. The NYSPQC's projects are offered at no cost to birthing facility teams.

What We've Accomplished:

  • 97% of births in New York State occur in a birthing facility that has participated in a NYSPQC project.
  • 96% of birthing facilities in New York State have participated in a NYSPQC project.
  • 91% of infants were in a safe sleep environment while in the hospital after birth by the end of the NYSPQC Safe Sleep Project. This role-modeling promotes safer practices at home.
  • 90% of hospitals reported using quantitative blood loss (QBL) measurement by the end of the NYS Obstetric Hemorrhage Project, which is a more accurate way to measure blood loss during birth. This leads to quicker responses and a reduction in morbidity and mortality.
  • 5X more patients received education on postpartum preeclampsia, from 12.3% to 80.4% by the end of the Maternal Hemorrhage & Hypertension Project.

Current Projects:

  • NYS Birth Equity Improvement Project assists birthing facilities in identifying how individual and systemic racism impacts birth outcomes at their organizations and taking action to improve both the experience of care and perinatal outcomes for Black birthing people in the communities they serve;
  • NYSPQC Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Equity Project assists NICUs in improving outcomes for infants, and the experience of care for their parents, with a focus on reducing disparities in infant morbidity and mortality;
  • COVID-19 Vaccination During the Perinatal Period

If you are interested in participating in one of our current projects or work groups, as a provider, patient advocate, participating birthing facility, or other stakeholder, please e-mail NYSPQC@health.ny.gov.

Past Projects:

Links:

NYSPQC Leadership:

  • Marilyn Kacica, MD, MPH
    Executive Director, NYSPQC
    Medical Director, Division of Family Health
    New York State Department of Health
  • Kristen Lawless
    Director, NYSPQC
    Division of Family Health
    New York State Department of Health

NYSPQC Contact Information:

Resources:

NYSPQC News

The NYSPQC News is a newsletter that provides updates on current projects, accomplishments, recent publications, webinars, and other NYSPQC-related highlights and information.

Print Resources