To view the goals and key interventions for the PA PQC’s initiatives during the April 2023 through March 2023 Implementation Period, please view the following Driver Diagrams:
- document Maternal Substance Use Driver Diagram
- document Substance Exposed Newborn Driver Diagram
- document Immediate Postpartum LARC Driver Diagram
The April 2023 through March 2024 Implementation Period includes a continuum of care theme to help PA PQC Healthcare Teams advance to and adopt Key Interventions in the initiative-specific Driver Diagrams that involve collaborations between hospitals and prenatal and postpartum offices, community-based agencies, community-based organizations, mental health providers, SUD treatment providers, and/or outpatient primary care providers.
All of the PA PQC’s initiatives in 2023 will follow the timeline depicted below. This page contains additional details about each period: the recruitment period, the implementation period, and the sustaining period.
Birth hospitals can formally join or re-commit to the PA PQC initiative(s) by submitting this Annual Enrollment Form by March 31, 2023 to:
(1) select the initiative(s) for the April 2023 through March 2024 Implementation Period;
(2) identify which existing initiatives your team will be sustaining during the April 2023 through March 2024 period
(3) agree to work towards the initiative’s goals; and
(4) agree to follow the expectations for the implementation and sustaining periods.
During the Implementation Period, the PA PQC Healthcare Team is expected to do the following for each initiative they join with guidance from their PA PQC quality improvement coach:
- Form, structure, and expand your multi-disciplinary PA PQC Healthcare Team
- Prioritize the initiative-specific key interventions to adopt based on your current condition
- Develop and implement a quality improvement plan with your team to translate the key interventions into practice, making continuous improvements
- Meet the following milestones for each initiative at the frequency noted in the table below.
PA PQC Healthcare Teams can become eligible for Quality Improvement Designations based on the milestones your team achieves each quarter and throughout the implementation period
| Milestone | Activity Per Initiative Joined | Frequency | Due Date |
| Milestone 1 | Depending on which learning sessions are offered during a particular calendar quarter, attend: The In-Person Annual Meeting on May 4 The Regional Virtual Meeting (if there is a virtual session for your region offered in the quarter) At least one Virtual Meeting in Q4 2023 At least one Virtual Meeting in Q1 2024 |
Quarterly | See the Events Page for the list of learning sessions |
| Milestone 2 | Submit a Quality Improvement (QI) Report Out, showing work related to implementing Key Intervention(s) | Quarterly | July 31, 2023 October 31, 2023 January 31, 2024 April 30, 2024 |
| Milestone 3 | Complete initiative-specific PA PQC survey | Quarterly | July 31, 2023 October 31, 2023 January 31, 2024 April 30, 2024 |
| Milestone 4 | Submit aggregated data for the PA PQC process and outcome measure(s) through the Life QI Data Portal | Quarterly | July 31, 2023 October 31, 2023 January 31, 2024 April 30, 2024 |
| Milestone 5 | Communicate and celebrate your team’s impact in the PA PQC within your hospital and community | Quarterly | July 31, 2023 October 31, 2023 January 31, 2024 April 30, 2024 |
Minimum Criteria for Staying Involved in the PA PQC During an Implementation Period
The PA PQC recognizes it takes time to achieve the five quarterly milestones listed above during the Implementation Period. As a result, the PA PQC also has a minimum set of criteria for staying involved in the PA PQC during the Implementation Period. This includes all of the following:
- Submitting a QI Report Out at least once during a six-month period;
- Submitting a quarterly initiative-specific survey during a six-month period;
- Having at least one hospital-level representative attend at least one meeting (virtual, annual in-person, or regional) during a six-month period; AND
- Submitting at least one quarter’s worth of aggregated data for the PA PQC process and outcome measures during a 12-month period.
If the minimum requirements are not met, the hospital team will be on pause and will not be counted as a PA PQC Healthcare Team. Additionally, the hospital team will not be eligible for Quality Improvement Awards and Designations. Re-engagement plans can be discussed further with your coach and PA PQC leadership.
Each Implementation Period will be followed by a 12-month Sustaining Period. A PA PQC Healthcare Teams enters a Sustaining Period when the team’s:
- QI Report Outs or Surveys indicate that at least one key intervention from a PA PQC initiative was implemented while participating in that initiative, AND
- submitted data for a related process or outcome measure shows that the PA PQC Healthcare Team’s goal was achieved and is starting to be sustained over time.
The PA PQC anticipates that it will take about 12 months to enter a Sustaining Period.
While in a Sustaining Period for the key intervention implemented during the Implementation Period, PA PQC Healthcare Teams will be expected to submit the same survey and measure(s) quarterly that the team submitted during the Implementation Period. These are the only two expectations during the Sustaining Period (e.g., the QI Report Outs do not need to be submitted during the Sustaining Period). To enable PA PQC Healthcare Teams to know whether they are in an Implementation or Sustaining Period for a key intervention, the PA PQC will maintain a record of whether a PA PQC Healthcare Team is in the Sustaining or Implementation Period for both past and current PA PQC initiatives. PA PQC Healthcare Teams can email their coach or papqc@whamglobal.org to ask about their status.