DENVER, COLO. – Sept. 24, 2024 – Colorado Hospital Association (CHA), on behalf of its more than 100 member hospitals and health systems across the state, is proud to announce a new partnership with the Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative (CPCQC), the state’s leading organization working to advance best practices and improve outcomes in maternal and infant health.

Maternal mortality has risen in Colorado. From 2016 to 2020, there were 174 pregnancy-associated deaths, and 90 percent of those deaths were preventable. In addition, maternal morbidity is also a challenge, with 1,300 Colorado obstetric patients in 2022 experiencing a severe complication. While many factors contribute to both maternal morbidity and mortality, hospitals will play a key role in quality improvement efforts to protect patients.

“Our hospitals are committed to improving maternal morbidity and mortality, and partnering with our state’s leading quality improvement organization on this issue will be a crucial step in that process,” said Richard Bottner, DHA, PA-C, CHA vice president, clinical excellence. “We appreciate the expertise of the CPCQC and look forward to the advances this partnership will bring for our patients.”

Through the new partnership, CHA and CPCQC will assist hospitals as they implement requirements from recent statewide perinatal health outcomes legislation. This includes facilitating hospital engagement, supporting effective implementation of quality improvement programs, sharing in-depth knowledge of hospital clinical operations, and streamlining data collection in coordination with other state and federal data reporting requirements.

“Colorado’s new state-wide commitment and enhanced accountability for quality improvement in perinatal care and outcomes is extraordinary, ” shares the CPCQC CEO, Rebecca Alderfer.  “This commitment is further strengthened by CPCQC and CHA’s partnership which is designed to position all of Colorado’s birthing and neonatal care hospitals to routinely provide equitable and safe care that enhances trust and connection with patients.  We are proud to advance this shared focus with CHA.”

About CHA

CHA is the leading voice of Colorado’s hospital and health system community. Representing more than 100 member hospitals and health systems throughout the state, CHA serves as a trusted, credible and reliable resource on health issues, hospital data and trends for its members, media, policymakers, and the general public. Through CHA, Colorado’s hospitals and health systems work together in their shared commitment to improve health and health care in Colorado. Learn more at www.cha.com.

About CPCQC

The CPCQC is designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as Colorado’s perinatal quality collaborative (PQC). As a PQC, this organization works within the state and across multistate networks to improve the quality of care for birthing people and infants by providing hospitals with rapid response data analysis and technical assistance, targeted quality improvement coaching, and opportunities for collaborative learning to achieve systems-level change. The CPCQC is supported by the United States Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to lead the implementation of the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health’s (AIM’s) evidence-based patient safety bundles in Colorado hospitals. In addition, the CPCQC is leading programs focused on perinatal health and outcomes in communities from conception through one year postpartum, including rural perinatal care, mental health and substance use disorders, and systems-level policy change. The CPCQC’s mission is to ensure that EVERY mother, birthing individual, and their families in Colorado receive culturally relevant, safe, equitable, high-quality care no matter who they are or where they live. For more information, please visit: https://cpcqc.org/.

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