About IP26
NEW IN 2026: Bridging worlds—Improvement Palooza meets life After Fellowship and Cool Topics in Neonatology!
Be part of a dynamic gathering of multidisciplinary NICU teams, parent partners, and leaders driving change across California. This year’s theme, “Unifying NICU Care, Empowering Families: Translating Knowledge into Action,” celebrates collaboration, connection, and innovation.
Improvement Palooza 2026 spotlights cutting-edge strategies in family-centered care, with timely sessions on:
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Addressing health-related social needs through CPQCC’s CARE Collaborative
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Improving NICU pain management and advancing palliative and comfort care
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Partnering with families—listening deeply, building trust, and co-designing care improvement efforts
✨ For the first time, all attendees joined together Wednesday afternoon for a shared learning experience with our partners from CAN and SoNPM. These joint sessions included a lively panel on Communication and Connection in the NICU, and a compelling keynote from our very own Dr. Susan Hintz on strengthening the NICU-to-HRIF transition—followed by an engaging Poster and Storyboard Reception.
Improvement Palooza 2026 was in-person, with no virtual option. All sessions were recorded and will be shared with all registrants after the event.
IP26 Summary:
Attendees walked away with practical strategies, fresh perspectives, and renewed energy as they came together with our partners from CAN to explore innovation in family-centered care, the power of words, and the collaboration that drives change.
Key Highlights:
- 210 attendees (our largest yet!)
- 8 VIP Tables (teams of 4+)
Now the real impact begins. We can’t wait to see this put into action in your NICU—see you next year at IP27.
Thank you to our incredible planning team for bringing this day to life—and especially to Tanya Hatfield for her leadership and tireless work as chair
Schedule
QI Storyboards
Following the success of last year’s launch, we’re thrilled to continue the QI Storyboard tradition at IP26! This engaging format gives teams the opportunity to visually showcase their NICU’s improvement journey—highlighting goals, strategies, progress, and outcomes. Storyboards are a powerful way to share your story, celebrate your achievements, and inspire fellow CPQCC teams.
To support you in creating your NICU’s QI storyboard, we will provide:
- Step-by-step instructions on using Canva, a user-friendly platform for designing your storyboard.
- Several templates and examples to guide you in organizing your content. We encourage you to tweak as needed and be creative as ever!
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All finalized storyboards will need to be uploaded to BOX here by February 23, 2026.
And here’s the fun part: CPQCC will handle the printing of your storyboards and have them ready to display at IP26 for all attendees to see. We hope that your team can informally share your QI work with others throughout the day. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your hard work in a creative and meaningful way! Stay tuned for more details and resources. We can’t wait to see your stories come to life!
Questions or issues? Please reach out to Courtney Breault, Associate Director of Quality, at:cnisbet@stanford.edu
Optional Prework
We’re offering optional pre-conference reflections to help you arrive grounded and ready to connect at IP26. These brief resources invite shared reflection on family communication, grief, disability, and NICU care—choose what resonates with you. Want to send a PDF to your group's attendees? Download it here.
