At the Quality Institute, we want to make sure you haven’t missed the important and actionable work we accomplished this busy spring and summer. Whether you’re just back from vacation or looking for exceptional resources to continue improving health equity, advancing maternal infant health, or strengthening our health care workforce — we’ve got answers.

In May, in partnership with The Burke Foundation, we released, Delivering Better Care: Midwifery Practice in New Jersey. Midwives provide high quality well-woman and perinatal care and elevate health equity and improve outcomes. The report calls for systemic changes to diversify and strengthen the midwifery profession in our state. Since the report was released, we’ve continued the work with many of you and look forward to being a resource to advance and support the development of the midwifery profession. If your organization would like to be involved, reach out to our Community Health and Policy Associate Armonie Pierre-Jacques, MPH, at apierrejacques@njhcqi.org.

In July, we released the Maternal Action Plan, or MAP, a holistic approach to reduce the unacceptable Black maternal mortality and morbidity rates in our state. The work was generously supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The MAP is a four-step policy guide to accelerate the implementation of the Nurture NJ Strategic Plan. The MAP guides foundations, state government, health care systems, health insurers, providers, community-based organizations, and advocates. For more information or to engage directly on MAP reach to our Director of Policy, Kate Shamszad at kshamszad@njhcqi.org

Also in July, we released A Guidance Document to Recruit, Train, and Retain a Resilient and Diverse Health Care Workforce for New Jersey. The Guidance Document, also generously supported by RWJF, calls for a strategic plan to understand and develop the state’s health care workforce as well as the need for greater demographic data to develop that plan. The Guidance Document explores and analyzes other states and platforms where health care workforce planning has been successfully implemented. As our nation and state ages and become more diverse, we must address the need for a vibrant and diverse health care workforce. Our members tell us that workforce capacity is one of their greatest challenges. We encourage you to read the Guidance Document and work with us to advance its recommendations. To learn more, read our latest op-ed in NJ Spotlight, and reach out to our Chief Operating Officer, Tyla Minniear at tminniear@njhcqi.org.

Each of our reports relied on the input, perspective, and experience of our members and others. We are grateful for their input and hard work. We know these documents are not easy beach reads for these hot summer days. But they provide paths forward to advance the mission we all share — improving the safety, quality, and affordability of health care for everyone.