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Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative
The Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative (PA PQC) was launched in April 2019 as an action arm of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation. The PA PQC is committed to reducing maternal mortality and improving the standard of care for pregnant and postpartum people and babies.
Over 140 people from all the regions of Pennsylvania worked together to establish the PA PQC through an Advisory Group and a series of work groups on maternal health issues. Members represented state agencies, providers, health system associations, provider associations, health plans, community-based organizations, researchers, foundations, quality improvement collaboratives, and advocates.
As a result of that work, over 75 birth sites and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and over 14 health plans across the Commonwealth are actively identifying perinatal processes in need of improvement and advocating for the adoption of these best practices to achieve common aims.
The PA PQC focus areas for 2026-2027 are:
- A Family Approach to Postpartum Discharge Transition
- A Family Approach to Services and Transitions for Opioid Use and Exposure
- A Family Approach to Prenatal and Postpartum Depression
While each initiative addresses a different aspect of perinatal care, they share a common framework centered on improving transitions of care, strengthening communication across settings, and supporting the needs of the entire family—not only the birthing person, but also infants, partners, caregivers, and other support people who play a critical role in maternal and infant health.
To operationalize these goals, PA PQC is launching focused 6-week quality improvement sprints on developing a Comprehensive Postpartum Visit Template and improving Patient Care Communication. The Patient Care Communication Sprint Series provides a natural bridge to one of PA PQC's foundational priorities: elevating patient voice. By embedding patient and family perspectives throughout its initiatives, PA PQC seeks to build systems that are not only clinically effective, but also compassionate, equitable, and responsive to the needs of every family they serve. Additionally, the PA PQC Designations program offers participating healthcare teams an opportunity to expand upon their foundational quality improvement work and focus their efforts on interventions that incorporate patient voice and address health equity.