Quality Improvement and Education
Responding to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Online Course
About the Course
With Responding to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome every member of your multidisciplinary team caring for infants and families will be able to develop skills to standardize care and improve outcomes for this vulnerable population.
Over nine lessons (8.25 CME/CNE credits), we introduce practices that have led to reduced length of stay and pharmacologic treatment and prepare teams to partner with families and “follow-through” to address social factors that affect long-term health outcomes.
The course is built on the experiences and successes of more than 250 teams that tested and implemented evidence-based potentially better practices to improve care for infants and mothers exposed to opioids.
How to Access the Course
This course is available to Quality Circle members and centers with an Education Subscription. Members associated with enrolled centers can find the course on the My QI Programs section of the VON member portal.

New Quality Circle Membership Inquiry
Quality Circle member programs include: iNICQ “All Care is Brain Care,” Collaborative Spotlight, Quality Improvement Foundations, and Responding to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.
Cost: $7,500

New Education Subscription Inquiry
Education Subscriptions include the Collaborative Spotlight, Quality Improvement Foundations, and Responding to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome courses.
Cost: Annual fees for the education subscription are dependent on NICU level.
- Level 3 and Level 4 NICU: $1,500
- Level 2 NICU: $500
Responding to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Curriculum
This course includes nine video sessions worth 8.25 CME/CNE credits.
Lesson 1: NAS Landscape
- The Prescription Opioid Epidemic and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome – A Public Health Approach
- NAS Presentation and Typical Course
Lesson 2: Virtual Video Visit
- Linking Attitudes with Outcomes
- Chapter 2: The Face of Trauma
- Chapter 3: The Birth Story
- Chapter 4: Stories of Hope and Recovery
- Chapter 5: The Long Road Home
Lesson 3: Family Voices
- Family Voices – Lessons from Families Affected by Substance Abuse and NAS
- Mothers’ Voices: Lessons from Project NESST and the Center for Early Relationship Support
Lesson 4: Substance Use
- Family Voices – Lessons from Families Affected by Substance Abuse and NAS
- Mothers’ Voices: Lessons from Project NESST and the Center for Early Relationship Support
Lesson 5: Assessment
- Eat, Sleep, Console
- Scoring Redux: Pitfalls and Perils
- Scoring: Cases, Controversies
- Screening and Obtaining a Complete Drug History for Substance Use in Pregnancy
- Lactation and the Substance-Exposed Mother-Infant Dyad
Lesson 6: Feeding and Nutritional Support
- Lactation and the Substance-Exposed Mother-Infant Dyad
- Engaging Families in Feeding and Nutritional Support
Lesson 7: Non-Pharmacologic Strategies
- Non-Pharmacologic Strategies for Symptom Management
- NAS Examining the Evidence: Controversies in Pharmacologic Management
- Navigating the Legal Landscape – Care of Infants and Families Affected by NAS and Pragmatic Strategies to Manage Challenging Family Interactions
Lesson 8: Creating a High-Reliability NAS Program
- NAS Presentation and Typical Course
- Improved Family-Centered Care at Lower Cost and Improvement Story: Using Standardization to Create a High Reliability NAS Program,
- Standardizing Care to Improve Outcomes
Lesson 9: Discharge
- NAS: Homeward Bound – Clinical Case Study in Point
- NAS: Assessment-Based Individuals Community Connection
Faculty
Dr. Ron Abrahams
Erica Asselin
Joanna Celenza MA, MBA
Robert DiGiuseppe, MD
Nancy A. Eschbach, MSW, LCSW
Elisabeth Holland, RNC-e
Jodi Jackson, MD
Lauren Jansson, MD
Karol Kaltenbach, Ph.D
Erin L. Keels R.N., M.S., NNP-BC
Walter Kraft, MD
Jacqueline McGrath, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN
Lenora Marcellus RN, PhD
Steven Ondersma, PhD
Adrienne Pahl, MD
Stephen W. Patrick, MD, MPH, MS
Robert E. Schumacher, MD
Roger F. Soll, MD
Amy Sommer, MSW
Elizabeth R. Stanton, BA, MA, PA, JD
Imani Walker
Bonny Whalen, MD
Krisanna Deppen, MD
Jeffrey Horbar, MD
Community Support
Connect with other participants in this course and teams responding to neonatal abstinence syndrome. The VON Community Forum is a place to ask questions and share practices, guidelines, and new knowledge and experiences.