The Quality Institute is dedicated to improving the quality, safety, and affordability of health care in our state.

We bring together a diverse membership of health care stakeholders and community leaders to collaborate on initiatives that advance our mission. Our work is organized across three core program areas: Policy, Quality Improvement, and Community Health.

OUR Programs and initiatives

Policy

Quality  Improvement

Community Health

Policy

Guided by the insight and expertise of our members, our policy initiatives address some of the most pressing issues in New Jersey’s health care landscape. We lead efforts in areas such as payment reform, maternal and child health, and advancing Medicaid. Through research, stakeholder convening, and evidence-based advocacy, we help shape policies that create more equitable, sustainable, and patient-centered health systems.

For more information, please contact the policy team:

Kate Shamszad, MS, MPH, Director of Policy, at kshamszad@njhcqi.org.

Armonie Pierre-Jacques, MPH, Program Officer, at apierrejacques@njhcqi.org.

Maxilia Desir, Program Officer, at mdesir@njhcqi.org

Maternity Action Plan (MAP)

The Quality Institute released the Maternity Action Plan (“MAP”), a holistic approach to combatting maternal mortality and morbidity.

The MAP provides a directional path forward in four critical ways to address New Jersey’s maternal health crisis, which is particularly devastating for Black women, who experience maternal mortality and morbidity at 7 times higher rates than their white counterparts. By using the MAP, together we will make New Jersey the safest and most equitable place for pregnant patients to give birth and raise children.

READ THE MAP & RESOURCES

Integrated Care for Kids (InCK)

Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), in partnership with New Jersey Medicaid, New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute and the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey, has entered into a collaborative agreement with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish the NJ Integrated Care for Kids (InCK) model. Working with those who provide primary care to children in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, NJ InCK will test an Alternative Payment Model (APM), for NJ Family Care programs, by providing payment for screening and provision of integrated community-based core child health services.

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Maternal Infant Health (MIH) Hub

To work toward implementing the Delivering Better Care: Midwifery Practice in New Jersey recommendations, the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute and the Burke Foundation launched the Maternal Infant Health Hub as a policy and learning collaborative to strengthen midwifery practice and promote birth equity and justice in New Jersey. The Hub convenes midwives, advocates, and MIH stakeholders to create a shared learning space and provide educational resources focused on maternal health policy. The Hub works with participants to help design a policy and advocacy focused midwifery fellowship to assist early-career midwifery leaders.

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New Jersey Reproductive Health Access Project (NJ-RHAP)

NJ-RHAP is a statewide initiative created to empower New Jersey patients, their providers, and payers, to identify the reproductive health services that are best for themselves and their families and to expand access to the full range of contraceptive options available.

READ THE TOOLKIT

Essential Jobs Essential Care New Jersey (EJEC NJ)

New Jersey’s direct care workforce for eldercare and disability needs. EJEC NJ 90+ organizations and individuals across New Jersey that have come together to advocate for policy changes to support and grow the direct care workforce, including certified homemaker-home health aides (CHHAs), certified nursing assistants or nurse aides (CNAs), and direct support professionals (DSPs).

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QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Our Quality Improvement work is driven by data, transparency, and collaboration. As the Regional Leader for The Leapfrog Group—a national nonprofit that publicly reports hospital safety and quality performance—we oversee the Hospital and Ambulatory Surgery Center Surveys in New Jersey. We partner with hospitals, health systems, and surgery centers to advance transparency, promote quality measurement, and support the implementation of proven safety practices that directly benefit patients.

For more information, please contact the quality improvement team:

Adelisa Perez-Hudgins, MSN, RN, Director of Quality, aperez@njhcqi.org.

Christine Ivery, MPH, CHES, Program Officer, civery@njhcqi.org.

Annelise Slater, MPH, CHES, Program Officer, aslater@njhcqi.org.

THE LEAPFROG GROUP

The Leapfrog Group is an employer-based coalition advocating for improved transparency, quality, and safety in hospitals. Leapfrog works with its employer members to encourage transparency and easy access to health care information as well as rewards for hospitals that have a proven record of high quality care.

We are the Regional Leader of the Hospital and Ambulatory Surgery Center Survey in New Jersey and New York and are proud to work with our members to promote transparency in quality measures.

LEAPFROG RESOURCES

TEAMBIRTH NJ

TeamBirth is a care process innovation involving a series of team huddles between the patient and their care team, designed to empower each team member to contribute information, reliably structure communication, and help the team arrive at shared plans together. It focuses on eliciting the patient’s preferences, symptoms, and subjective experiences and integrates this with clinical data to inform patient care plans and promote safe, dignified childbirth care for every patient.

TEAMBIRTH RESOURCES

QUALITY BRIEFINGS

The Quality Institute releases regular Quality Briefings to share relevant data sets that can inform quality improvement work. Quality improvement data can be used by employers, purchasers, payers, and patients to help inform decisions about where to seek care, leverage purchasing power, and increase transparency.

QUALITY BRIEFINGS

Community Health

Our Community Health work includes signature programs, the Mayors Wellness Campaign and Conversation of Your Life (COYL). In these initiatives we work with local leaders across the state to advance the health and wellness of their communities.

For more information, please contact the community health team:

Julie DeSimone, LSW, Director of Community Health, jdesimone@njhcqi.org.

Katie Bisaha, Community Health and Policy Associate, kbisaha@njcqi.org.

MAYORS WELLNESS CAMPAIGN (MWC)

The Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC) is a statewide community health initiative that provides evidence-based tools and strategies for mayors and community leaders to help their residents achieve healthier lifestyles and to improve overall health and wellness in their communities. The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute has been leading the Mayors Wellness Campaign in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities for over 12 years. The campaign includes over 400 participating communities, and is growing.

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CONVERSATION OF YOUR LIFE (COYL)

In 2015, the Quality Institute created the Conversation of Your Life (COYL) program, which provides mayors and community partners with free education, support, and resources to help you and those who matter most to you make decisions about the type of care you would want in a medical emergency or serious illness.

COYL hosts educational community events across the state and we are actively recruiting COYL partners to help Garden State residents and their families better understand the benefits of advance care planning and the choices available to them.

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Children’s Mental Health Mapping Project

Led by the Quality Institute, this project’s goal is to better understand and improve how mental health services are delivered to children and teens. The project will gather input from families, providers, and experts to identify where care is available, where it’s lacking, and how children currently navigate the mental health system. The ultimate goal is to create a clearer picture of the current system and recommend changes that will make it more effective, equitable, and responsive to families across the state.