Quality Improvement at VON
VON QI Collaborative: All Care is Brain Care
As neonatology has substantially improved survival rates over the years, it is more important than ever to do what we can to ensure infants and families have their best start to life beyond the NICU. To do so, we must safeguard an especially vulnerable and important organ: the brain.
Through our Newborn Improvement Collaborative for Quality (NICQ) and the internet-based NICQ (iNICQ), teams are aiming to improve clinical care and long-term outcomes by approaching all aspects of newborn care through a neuroprotective lens. By exploring evidence, pursuing data-driven QI, and implementing better practices, these VON teams can ensure that all care we provide benefits the developing brain.
The focus of “All Care is Brain Care” will last from 2023-2026.
Topics for 2025-2026
Reducing Pain & Pokes
Bundling Care to Reduce Severe IVH
Neuroprotective Lung Strategies
Promoting Parental Wellbeing and Health Equity
Optimizing Neurodevelopment for Infants with BPD
Why Focus on Brain Care?
While we continue to improve neonatal survival rates, we cannot do so at the expense of or without a clear focus on our ability to safeguard the full potential of each infant.
All care we provide must consider an especially vulnerable and important organ: the developing brain.
By exploring evidence and implementing better practices, we can ensure that all care we provide benefits the brain.
All Care is Brain Care Program Structure
With the aim to prevent injury, protect normal maturation and development, and promote positive experiences and relationships, we support teams with:
- potentially better practices/change ideas and clinical examples
- measurement plans and reporting
- foundational QI resources
- consultation and collaboration with care experts and other teams
Why Approach Brain Care with VON?
More than 900 teams participating in VON QI for over 25 years have demonstrated remarkable improvements in clinical outcomes, substantial cost savings, and progress in addressing disparities and promoting family-centered care.
Improvement in VON collaboratives is data-driven (with audits conducted by VON), and based in evidence. Our approach to quality improvement encompasses the entire care team, including parents, and is based on foundational principles that teams have found effective in sustaining improvement.
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