Quality of Care Campaign

The Alliance believes pediatric quality of care should be a top priority for policymakers. Over the past decade, there have been a number of initiatives to improve health care quality for adults-especially those in Medicare.  We would now like to see quality improvement efforts extended to pediatrics and the Medicaid program. Developing and investing in services and treatments that recognize and meet children's unique needs promotes healthy development, improves the ability of children to learn in school and supports their families.

The Alliance's pediatric quality of care campaign engages consumers, health care professionals, business leaders, and policymakers to raise awareness about pediatric quality, advocate for improvement efforts at the state and federal level, and foster information sharing about pediatric quality initiatives in the New England states. 

NEACH Quality Toolkit

• Children's Health Quality Fact Sheet
• Sample Letter to State Senator or Representative
• Sample Letter to Member of Congress
• Sample Letter to Editor: State Issue
• Sample Letter to Editor: National Health Reform
• Sample Op-Ed: National Health Reform
• Sample Op-Ed: State Focus

Other NEACH Resources

• Talking about Pediatric Quality: Message Points for Advocates
  Advocates can use these message points, developed by the Alliance, to raise awareness about pediatric quality among state and federal policy makers, as well as the general public.
• Pediatric Quality of Care Matrix
  The Matrix provides a framework for thinking about pediatric quality from the point of view of the child and family.
• Pediatric Quality Menu of Policy Solutions
  In preparation for health reform and in response to requests from several Congressional offices, the Alliance developed the Pediatric Quality Menu, which includes a wide-range of provisions that could improve the quality of children's health care.  The Alliance shared the Menu with key members of the Senate Finance Committee and the New England Congressional delegation in the spring of 2009.

Legislative Materials

• NEACH - New England Consortium Child Nutrition Reauthorization Sign On Letter (September 2010)
• Federal Register Notice - Initial Core Set of Quality Measures for CHIPRA
• CHIPRA Quality Demonstrations
• Background Report for the request for public comment on children's health care quality measures for CHIP and Mediciaid (AHRQ, December 2009)
• Health Care Quality Act (S.966)
• CHIPRA 2009 Quality Provisions
  On February 4, 2009 President Obama signed the CHIPRA bill.  The Alliance is closely tracking implementation of the law's strong pediatric quality provisions.

News

• HHS Seeks Comments on Core Set Of Children's Health Quality Measures (December 2009)
  
• The National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality Receives $3.25 Grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to Fight Childhood Obesity (June 2009)
• Dodd Says Legislation Needs to Aid Wellness in Mothers, Children (April 2009)

Presentations and Reports

• Medicaid and CHIP Strategies for Improving Child Health (Commonwealth Fund, July 2009)
• Building Medical Homes in State Medicaid and CHIP Programs (Commonwealth Fund, June 2009)
• Quality of Health Care: Expanding the Scope and Flexibility of Measurement Approaches (Commonwealth Fund, May 2009)
• Family-Centered Care Coordination (Alliance Summit 2009)

• National and State Perspectives (Alliance Summit 2008)

Quality Links on the Web

• Alliance for Pediatric Quality
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut
• National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI)
• National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ)

• Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP)

Childhood Obesity Prevention

News

• Doctor, Health Care Pals Start Child Obesity Pilot (ABC News; April 23, 2010)
  
• Kids Teaching Kids About Eating Right (HealthNewsDigest.com; March 22, 2010)
  
• HHS Teams Up with Olympic Athletes to Fight Childhood Obesity (HHS Press Office; March 3, 2010)
  
• Obesity Among Most Common Chronic Childhood Health Issues in the U.S. (Health News; February 22, 2010)
• Michelle Obama asks governors to address childhood obesity (Washington Post; February 22, 2010)
• President of American Academy of Pediatrics Joins First Lady Michelle Obama in Commitment to Reduce Childhood Obesity (AAP; February 9, 2010)
• Michelle Obama kicks off drive against childhood obesity (AFP; February 9, 2010)
• A Federal Effort to Push Junk Food Out of Schools (New York Times; February 7, 2010)
• HHS Secretary and Surgeon General Join First Lady to Announce Plans to Combat Overweight and Obesity and Support Healthy Choices (US Department of Health and Human Services; February 2, 2010)
• Task force: Screen kids for obesity (Concord Monitor; January 18, 2010)
• New Pilot Program Launched to Prevent Childhood Obesity (Children's Hospital Boston, April 2009)

NEACH Materials

• Statement of Priorities on Child Nutrition Reauthorization (July 2010)
• New England Delegation Child Nutrition Reauthorization Staff List (July 2010)

Reports and Publications

• Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation (White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, May 2010)
• Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity (Institute of Medicine, September 2009)
• F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America (Trust for America's Health, July 2009)
• Child Obesity Epidemic (Children's Hospital Boston)

• Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up? (IOM's Committee on Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity, 2006)

Additional Resources on the Web

• 5-2-1-0 Let's Go!
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Healthy Youth
• National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center: Childhood Obesity Prevention
• National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ)
• Office of the Surgeon General: Childhood Overweight and Obesity Prevention Initiative