Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative (LaPQC)
The Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative (LaPQC) is an initiative of the Bureau of Family Health and an authorized agent of the Louisiana Commission on Perinatal Care and Prevention of Infant Mortality. LaPQC is a network of perinatal care providers, public health professionals, and advocates who work to improve outcomes for women who give birth, families, and newborns in Louisiana. The LaPQC serves a vital role in supporting birthing facilities and other health care settings across the state in implementing evidence-based best practices that promote safe, patient-centered care and dignified birth.
For more information, please visit the LaPQC website: lapqc.org.
About LaPQC’s Priorities
The LaPQC supports continuous quality improvement for better perinatal and neonatal outcomes. This work aligns with the Bureau of Family Health’s vision to value all Louisianans to reach their full potential, from birth through the next generation. Program staff are working on the following initiatives during the 2023-2024 state fiscal year:
Learn more about these programs using the links below:
- breastfeeding and infant nutrition through The Gift.
- maternal mortality, morbidity, and birth outcomes through the Safe Births Initiative.
- improving the identification, care, and treatment of women who give birth and newborns affected by opioids and substance use through the Improving Care for the Substance-Exposed Dyad (ICSED) Initiative.
- Understanding screening and referral pathways for caregivers of infants in the Caregiver Perinatal Depression Screening in Pediatrics Pilot.
Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative Report
The 2023 LaPQC Report is now available!
About PQC Participation
What can participating LaPQC facilities expect to do? Typically, hospitals in the initiative work to:
- Assemble a multidisciplinary team, including a patient or family advisor.
- Attend monthly Collaborative calls and annual meetings to learn from other facilities as well as the LaPQC team and experts in obstetric and neonatal care.
- Meet with the LaPQC team quarterly to plan your QI work, negotiate barriers, and celebrate wins.
- Collect and report data for process and outcome measures using the Life Quality Improvement (QI) system.
- Share change ideas, best practices, and lessons learned with other teams during and between Learning Sessions.
- Prepare to sustain the changes beyond the initiative.
In an effort to recognize participating LaPQC facilities and create a system of sustained, evidence-based change, the Collaborative offers the Louisiana Birth Ready Designation. With two tiers of achievement – Louisiana Birth Ready and Louisiana Birth Ready+ – the Designation recognizes facilities’ consistent, thoughtful healthcare improvement work. The Birth Ready Designation also celebrates improved perinatal health outcomes, the result of implementing clinical practices that promote safe, patient-centered, and dignified care for all women who give birth in Louisiana.
Click here to view the list of Louisiana hospitals that have achieved the Birth Ready or Birth Ready+ Designation. To learn more about joining the LaPQC, contact the LaPQC team at lapqc@la.gov.
Helpful Links
Louisiana Department of Health ›
Check out the LAPQC homepage on the Louisiana Department of Health website for more information.
Life Quality Improvement (Life QI) System: User Login ›
Log into Life QI for LaPQC data reporting
LaPQC One-Pager ›
Download and print this handout to share information about the program and the Reducing Maternal Morbidity Initiative
Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Data Use Agreement ›
Data use agreement between the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health and the Louisiana Department of Health's Bureau of Family Health
Public Health Administrative Code: Quality Collaborative Participation ›
See Subchapter S. Obstetrical and Newborn Services (Book 2 of 2).
Data Center ›
Find and download the Bureau of Family Health's data products, such as reports and fact sheets
Contact us at LaPQC@la.gov for more information or to work with the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative.
Veronica Gillispie-Bell, MD, MAS
Medical Director, Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative and Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review
Veronica.Gillispie@la.gov
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