What Is a Pediatric Improvement Partnership?

A Pediatric Improvement Partnership is a durable state or regional collaboration of public and private partners that uses the science of quality improvement and a systems approach to improve health care infrastructure and practice. Such partnerships formally exist in states including Alabama, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, DC. Washington Child Health Improvement Partnership (WA-CHIP) is Washington State’s Pediatric Improvement Partnership.

Who is involved in a Pediatric Improvement Partnership?

WA-CHIP brings together key players from across the health care system who can effect desired changes. This includes partners and representatives from state Medicaid, public health, professional organizations, academic institutions, children’s hospitals, healthcare delivery institutions, policymakers, and insurers.

What do Pediatric Improvement Partnerships do?

WA-CHIP actively supports provider capacity to improve child health and to measure performance. We develop and disseminate best practice, and convene state and community partners to improve policy to support best practice. WA-CHIP serves as a convener at the state and local levels.

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Our Partnership

The Washington Child Health Improvement Partnership (WA-CHIP) is led by the Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Seattle Children’s, Public Health – Seattle & King County, and the Washington State Department of Health. WA-CHIP is modeled on the framework developed by the National Improvement Partnership Network (NIPN), a network of over 20 states that have developed Improvement Partnerships to advance quality and transform healthcare for children and their families.

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Current Initiatives

First Year Families, 0-5 focus

First Year Families is led by a Steering Committee to advance family well-being and child development in first years of life, and the clinical focus includes work on Perinatal Mood Disorders (2020-2021), Universal Developmental Screening & Early Intervention, Pediatrics Supporting Parents, and Community Health Workers in Pediatric Primary Care. Anticipated/planned future QI projects include:

  • OB-GYN/Pediatrics Partnerships
  • Co-development of primary care improvements for relational health with parent advisors and community stakeholders (2022-2024)
  • A NOWS Toolkit

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Champions for Youth, K-12 Focus

Champions for Youth is led by a Steering Committee to ensure primary care, state agencies, and school partnerships advance well-being for school-aged children and adolescents. Our clinical focus includes increasing child and adolescent immunizations (2019-2024) and our community education efforts include increasing family confidence in COVID-19 vaccine (2021-2022) and rapid behavioral health education for primary care providers (2020-2022). Other programmatic activities include:

  • Rural HPV Vaccination Learning Collaborative
  • Somali Parent Voice
  • Partnering with Schools on Chronic Condition Management
  • Behavioral Health Integration in Primary Care
  • Community Health Workers in Primary Care for Behavioral Health