PA PQC Receives $795K HRSA Grant to Improve Maternal Health

The Jewish Healthcare Foundation is the recipient of a $795,000 federal grant through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) which will enable the Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative (PA PQC) to implement a new Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) bundle each year, such as evidence-based practices for issues such as hemorrhage or postpartum discharge, in addition to the PA PQC's continuing work with substance use disorders.

Robert Ferguson, MPH, chief policy officer, has led the PA PQC since it was launched in April 2019, with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation as an action arm of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee. Over 60 birth sites and neonatal intensive care units and over 10 health plans across the Commonwealth are actively identifying perinatal processes that need to be improved and quickly adopting best practices to achieve the common aims. The focus areas include maternal Opioid Use Disorder, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, contraceptive care, maternal depression, and severe hypertension.

The grant funding began September 1 and will continue through August 31, 2027.