About the CARE Collaborative
Leveraging CPQCC’s expertise in quality improvement, we plan to address unmet health-related social needs, then disseminate our work widely to California’s NICUs as well as other state and national perinatal collaboratives. Our implementation framework begins with family voices, community partners, and multidisciplinary NICU teams. Teams will focus on all NICU babies using consistent screening for health-related social needs (HRSNs), ensuring appropriate referrals and targeted follow-up for those identified as needing additional support. Using Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles, teams will test, refine, and implement changes to embed these practices into daily workflows, improve referral quality, and strengthen resource navigation for families.
Register Today!
Please join us in creating partnerships by engaging key stakeholders to enhance the capacity to address NICU families’ complex and drive meaningful improvements in patient outcomes. Registration closes on September 10th, 2025.
- View more information about our Quality Improvement Projects here.
- Download the CARE Executive Deck to equip your team with clear, compelling messaging to inform, inspire, and engage hospital leadership around the goals and impact of the CARE Collaborative.
CARE Collaborative Team Impact Bundle
- Flexible registration built for regional, community, and intermediate NICUS.
- Includes CARE Registration fees + CPQCC Improvement Palooza (IP) 2026 access for three team members*.
- Designed for teams driving change.
| CPQCC NICU Level | Standard Registration + IP26 Fees* | Safety Net Discounted + IP26 Fees* |
| Regional | $10,540 | $8,040 |
| Community | $9,040 | $7,040 |
| Intermediate | $6,540 | $5,040 |
To check if you are a safety net hospital, click here.
Why should your NICU join the CARE Collaborative?
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Benefit from a Statewide Learning Community
- Connect with other NICUs across California to share strategies, troubleshoot challenges, and accelerate progress through collective learning and support.
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Build and Sustain Quality Improvement (QI) Capacity
- Gain access to coaching, tools, data, and best practices that strengthen your team’s ability to test and implement improvements in care delivery.
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Enhance Staff Engagement and Team Wellness
- Research shows that participation in meaningful QI work fosters a sense of purpose, promotes interprofessional collaboration, and reduces staff burnout.
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Strengthen Care Coordination and Discharge Planning
- Improve processes for identifying and addressing health-related social needs, leading to safer, more seamless transitions to home.
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Improve Family Experience and Trust
- Support holistic, family-centered care that recognizes and responds to the challenges NICU families face.
Why should your hospital join the CARE Collaborative?
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Improved Outcomes and Reduced Cost Utilization
- Unmet social needs drive poor outcomes and increase NICU readmissions, missed appointments, and ED visits
- Addressing HRSNs early can reduce avoidable utilization and downstream costs—especially for high-risk, publicly insured populations
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Alignment with Statewide and Federal Mandates
- CalAIM's Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Community Supports utilization requires Managed Care Plans (MCP) to screen for social needs and coordinate care around them
- The Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal to Improve Health Equity requires assessment of HRSNs
- Mission alignment with the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) Hospital Equity Measures mandatory reporting program (effective June 4, 2025) HRSN screening and intervention requirements
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Enhanced Discharge Planning and Care Coordination
- HRSN screening enables teams to identify potential health barriers post-discharge, facilitating the development of more personalized care plans
- HRSN screening supports cohesive care coordination with resources like community partners and managed care plans
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Improved Family Experience and Trust
- Improves context-informed care and provides opportunities to build patient trust and satisfaction by acknowledging and supporting the full experience of families.
CARE Collaborative Co-Directors
| Ashwini Lakshmanan, MD, MS, MPH | Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine |
| Courtney Breault, RN, MS, CPHQ | CPQCC |
| Jochen Profit, MD, MPH | CPQCC |
| Kurlen Payton, MD | Cedars Sinai |
CARE Collaborative Core Team
| Erika Cordova Ramos, MD | Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Clinical Neonatologist at Boston Medical Center | Faculty Panelist |
| Carolina Gazca, LCSW | Clinical Social Worker/Therapist, Kaiser Permanente | Faculty Panelist |
| Diana Rogosa | NICU Parent Liaison UCSF Benioff SF | Faculty Panelist |
| Alex Liang | Project Coordinator, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine | Faculty Panelist |
| Susan Hintz, MD, MS | HRIF Medical Director, CPQCC and Stanford University School of Medicine | HRIF Expert Clinician |
| Kayla Karvonen, MD | Assistant Professor, Pediatrics UCSF Mission Bay | Improvement Support Lead |
| Sheila Razdan, MD, MPH | Attending Neonatologist Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics Keck School of Medicine of USC | Improvement Support Lead |
| Ryan Brewster, MD | NICU Fellow, Stanford Medicine School of Medicine | Support Lead |
| Sunita Hassamal, MD, MA, FACP | Public Health Medical Officer III, Integrated Systems of Care Division, California Department of Health Care Services | Key Advisor |
| Kimberly Novod, MPA | Founder & Executive Director Saul's Light | Key Advisor |
| Jean Leclerc Raphael, MD, MPH | Professor, Pediatrics-Academic General Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas | Key Advisor |
| Rupalee Patel,DNP, MS, BSN,C-PNP, C-PHN,IBCLC | Director Bridge Program, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center | Key Advisor |
| Zea Malawa, MD, MPH | Director of Expecting Justice and the Abundant Birth Project. San Francisco Department of Public Health. | Key Advisor |
| Anjelica Montano Health Program, MDP | Specialist II/Title V Child and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Coordinator Community Resilience and Support Section Center of Family Health/Maternal Child and Adolescent Branch California Department of Public Health | Key Advisor |
| Cheryl Walker, MD | Medical Director & Medical Policy Branch Chief Integrated Systems of Care Division California Department of Health Care Services | Key Advisor |
CARE Collaborative Timeline
| Collaborative Prework |
December 2023: Initial Topic Selection October 2024-May 2025: Invite and Meet with Core Planning Group |
| Preparation/Enrollment |
July-September 2025: Sites Register February 2025-Ongoing: Bi-weekly Faculty Panel Meetings August-October 2025: Sites complete pre-work (baseline data collection and online QI education course) |
| Collaborative (Active Phase & Sustainability) |
October/November 2025: Collaborative Launch /Learning Session #1 December 2025-September 2026: Monthly virtual site meeting March 2026: Learning Session #2 October 2026: Closing Meeting /Learning Session #3 March 2027: Learning Session #4 October 2027: Wrap Up Session |