A
Appropriate for gestational age (AGA)
B
Big Baby
An infant born at 32 weeks of gestation or later and with a birth weight of greater than 1,500 grams. Big Babies are only eligible for entry into the NICU Database if they are admitted to the NICU and experience one of eleven specific conditions/treatments.
C
CCS
California Children’s Services. The unit within California’s Department of Public Health responsible for children with special medical needs, including those admitted into the NICU and those requiring follow-up care after discharge through an HRIF Program.
CMQCC
One of CPQCC’s partner organizations. Focused on improving maternity care in California hospitals.
CPeTS
The California Perinatal Transport System. CPeTS publishes a daily bed availability status for all CCS-approved NICUs online to aid in the appropriate referral of high-risk pregnant women and newborn infants. CPQCC also tracks data on acute neonatal transports in and out of NICUs through the transport data set, which makes up part of the NICU Database.
CPQCC
A member driven organization of Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) across California. CPQCC’s mission is to improve the quality of neonatal care for all vulnerable infants in California. It operates the NICU and HRIF Databases which house information on the care and outcomes of infants in the majority of the state’s NICUs and HRIF Programs.
D
Data Committee (DC)
A voluntary committee of NICU clinicians and other stakeholders that reviews changes to data items in the NICU Database from a quality improvement and research perspective.
Data Committee Advisory Group (DCAG)
A voluntary committee of Data Contacts that reviews changes to data items in the NICU Database from the point of view of the people who are collecting and entering data.
Data Contact
Designated person at member hospital responsible for entering data into the NICU and/or HRIF Database.
Data Finalization
Period between February 1st-June 7th during which members and the Data Center team work together to ensure that data entry for the previous birth year is completed and data is cleaned, culminating in submission of the mandatory annual CCS Report for each member hospital.
E
Eligible NICU Infant
CPQCC collects data on infants at member hospitals who meet either the Small Baby or Big Baby criteria (see definitions). Examples of non-eligible infants include stillbirths, infants with birth weight 400 grams or less, and “Big Babies” without qualifying medical criteria.
Episode of Care
An episode of care is defined as the entire period of care before an infant is discharged home. This can include multiple stays in one NICU, if the infant is released from the NICU to another service within the hospital and subsequently readmitted to the NICU, or multiple stays across different NICUs, if the infant is transferred from one hospital’s NICU to another, as long as the infant is not discharged home at any point. Readmission after discharge home starts another episode of care.
Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW)
An infant with a birth weight of < 1,000 grams (<2 lbs, 3 oz). The classification is independent of gestational age.
F
Full Term
Delivery at 37 weeks gestation or later.
G
Grow, Babies, Grow!
A CPQCC QI Collaborative on optimizing growth and nutrition of very low birth weight infants. Grow, Babies, Grow! ran from October 2018 to March 2021.
Growth Advancement in the NICU (GAIN)
A CPQCC QI project designed to improve the growth and nutrition of NICU infants. GAIN launched in July 2021 with two cohorts: one focused on infants with intestinal surgeries and another on low birth weight (LBW) infants at NICUs with a small average daily census.
H
HRIF
High Risk Infant Follow-up. HRIF involves a series of three or more assessment visits for high risk infants between discharge from the NICU and age three.
HRIF Clinic
Local clinics across California which provide follow-up care to eligible infants and children.
HRIF Data Set
All collected information about HRIF-eligible infants receiving follow-up care in a CCS HRIF clinic, organized by birth year. Includes information on registration, standard visits, additional visits and client not seen discharge records.
HRIF Database
Database containing all data related to High Risk Infant Follow-up care.
HRIF Eligible
CPQCC collects data on all high risk infants eligible for HRIF services after discharge from the NICU. More information on HRIF eligibility can be found here.
HRIF ID
A unique, 8-digit number that identifies an infant/child enrolled in an HRIF clinic. The first 3-digits of the HRIF ID are assigned by the HRIF Support team. The remaining 5-digits are computer generated. The full 8-digit number is created after a Referral/Registration (RR) Form is submitted for an infant within the online HRIF Reporting System.
HRIF Program
The High Risk Infant Follow-up (HRIF) Program is run by California Children’s Services (CCS), a division of California's Department of Health Care Services. The HRIF Program oversees outpatient “follow-up” of infants requiring additional developmental care after discharge from the NICU that occurs in HRIF clinics across the state.
HRIF Reporting System
Online portal for entering HRIF data into the HRIF Database, viewing reports, and exporting HRIF data for analysis.
HRIF Support
A dedicated CPQCC program manager and biostatistician who provide member HRIF programs with support and assistance on anything related to the HRIF Database.
I
IHI
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement is one of the leading health care quality improvement organizations worldwide. IHI’s Breakthrough Series Collaborative Model is the basis for CPQCC’s QI Collaborative projects.
Inborn
Born at your hospital.
Infant ID
See definition for Record ID.
L
Large for gestational age (LGA)
An infant with a birth weight > 90th percentile for their gestational age.
Low birth weight (LBW)
An infant with a birth weight of < 2,500 grams (< 5 lbs, 8 oz). The classification is independent of gestational age.
N
Network ID
See definition for Record ID.
NICU
Neonatal intensive care unit
NICU Data Center (“Data Center”)
A team of CPQCC program managers and biostatisticians who provide member NICUs with support and assistance on anything related to the NICU Database.
NICU Data Set
A collection of data on CPQCC-eligible infants cared for in a member NICU, organized by birth year (e.g. “2017 NICU data set”). Includes data on whether individual infants have been acutely transported in or out of a NICU.
NICU Data Site
Online web portal for entering NICU and transport data into the NICU Database and the optional All NICU Admissions Database.
NICU Database
Entity within which the NICU and transport data sets are housed.
O
Optimizing Antibiotic Stewardship in California NICUs (OASCN)
A CPQCC QI project designed to implement and evaluate an innovative, scalable antibiotic stewardship intervention that pairs prospective audit and feedback with the ECHO TM (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) collaborative learning model. OASCN launched in February 2021.
Outborn
Born at another hospital and transferred to your hospital for additional care.
P
PQIP
The Perinatal Quality Improvement Panel. PQIP is a voluntary body of clinicians from across the state that guide and oversee CPQCC’s quality improvement work including the selection of topics and expert panels for QI Collaboratives.
Preterm
Delivery before 37 completed weeks of gestation.
Q
QI Collaborative
A large, multi-site quality improvement project. Sites work on improving specific clinical areas using a common set of best practices and measures. Strategies, resources, and data are shared across sites as part of a “community of learning.”
Quality Improvement (QI)
Quality improvement consists of systematic and continuous actions that lead to measurable improvement in health care services and the health status of targeted patient groups.
R
Record ID
A record ID is the unique identifier for an infant within one NICU during a single episode of care. For example, a record ID would identify the care an infant received upon being admitted to NICU A up until the point they were either discharged home or transferred to another hospital. If the infant was transferred to another hospital before being discharged home, the care received in NICU B would fall under the same episode of care; however, a new record ID would be generated by NICU B. Discharge home from either NICU A or NICU B would trigger the end to that episode of care.
Record ID is also referred to within CPQCC as an Infant ID or a Network ID.
S
Simulating Success
A CPQCC QI project designed to help NICUs implement a simulation based neonatal resuscitation training program at their institution. Simulating Success launched in April 2018.
Small Baby
An infant born between 22 weeks, 9 0 days of gestation and 31 weeks, 6 days of gestation or with a birth weight between 401-1,500 grams. Sometimes referred to as Very Low Birthweight (VLBW) infants. All Small Babies are eligible for entry into the NICU Database.
Small for Gestational Age (SGA)
An infant with a birth weight < 10th percentile for their gestational age.
Stay
A stay is defined as a singular period of care in one NICU. For example, if an infant is admitted to the NICU and then discharged home, the period in the first NICU is considered one stay. If the baby is readmitted or transferred to another hospital, the new period of care is considered a separate stay.
T
Transport Data Set
A collection of data on all acute transports in and out of CPQCC member NICUs, organized by birth year.
V
Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW)
An infant with a birth weight of <1,500 grams (< 3 lbs, 5 oz). The classification is independent of gestational age.
Visit
A visit is defined as an outpatient encounter which does not include an overnight stay. For example, a visit to an HRIF clinic to receive specialty care.
VON
The Vermont Oxford Network. VON is an international network of NICUs that aims to improve the quality and safety of medical care for newborn infants and their families through a coordinated program of research, education, and quality improvement projects. CPQCC members automatically receive VON membership. Member data on VON-eligible babies is submitted automatically to VON by the NICU Data Center.