[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 87 (Thursday, May 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27145-27146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10514]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration
Providing Support for the Collaborative Improvement and
Innovation Network (CoIIN) To Reduce Infant Mortality
AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice of a single-award deviation from competition
requirements for providing support for the Collaborative Improvement
and Innovation Network (CoIIN) to Reduce Infant Mortality.
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SUMMARY: HRSA announces the award of an extension in the amount of
$3,000,000 for the Providing Support for the Collaborative Improvement
and Innovation Network (CoIIN) to Reduce Infant Mortality cooperative
agreement. The purpose of the CoIIN is to develop and disseminate
evidence-based interventions to reduce infant mortality across states
in Regions I, II, III, VII, VIII, IX, and X by planning, implementing,
and managing regional CoIINs; providing technical assistance to CoIIN
teams to improve approaches to address infant mortality in their
respective regions through the understanding of
[[Page 27146]]
quality improvement concepts, tools, and techniques; and assisting
regional CoIIN participants and stakeholders in understanding the
process for sustaining and continuing project strategies after the
Federal period of support. The extension will permit the National
Institute for Children's Health Quality, Inc. (NICHQ), the cooperative
agreement awardee, during the budget period of 9/30/2016-9/29/2017, to
complete activities.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Intended Recipient of the Award: National Institute for Children's
Health Quality, Inc.
Amount of Non-Competitive Awards: $3,000,000.
Period of Supplemental Funding: 9/30/2016-9/29/2017.
CFDA Number: 93.110.
Authority: Special Projects of Regional and National
Significance (SPRANS); Social Security Act, Title V, Sec. 501(a)(2-
3); 42 U.S.C. 701 (a)(2-3).
Justification: The National Institute for Children's Health
Quality, Inc. (NICHQ), as part of the cooperative agreement, oriented
and trained CoIIN participants on quality improvement processes and
related principles and practices; planned and conducted regularly
scheduled learning sessions and monthly action period calls for each
strategy team; provided technical assistance to state strategy teams on
how to track progress of chosen quality improvement aims through the
use of real-time data; and provided an internet-based collaborative
workspace for monthly/quarterly/annual reporting of qualitative and
quantitative topic-specific and common measures of progress. In project
year 2, NICHQ received approval to add Regions IV, V, and VI to the
scope of work. As such, NICHQ has developed a CoIIN to reduce infant
mortality that includes all 59 states and jurisdictions and focuses on
six common state-driven strategies (safe sleep, smoking cessation,
preconception and interconception care, perinatal regionalization,
prevention of pre/early term birth, and social determinants of health).
NICHQ provides ongoing technical assistance to these six strategy teams
dedicated to improving infant mortality by focusing on the strategy
topics and to state personnel to implement CoIIN strategies. NICHQ has
used the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) Breakthrough
Series Model for Improvement where strategy teams commit to working
over a period of 12-18 months, alternating between learning sessions
and action periods. During the entire collaborative cycle, teams are
connected through a virtual, on-line community and are expected to
upload and share their results (i.e., data submission/reporting) as
well as encouraged to conduct peer-to-peer sharing/mentoring.
The recipient continues to make significant progress. However, the
project experienced significant delays due to factors beyond the
grantee's control. Startup delays included developing state personnel
and systems capacity to monitor and implement activities to improve
infant mortality. Also, orientation to the CoIIN methodology/approach
took longer than anticipated as states and jurisdictions reported
competing priorities. Further, states needed additional technical
assistance and capacity building related to data collection and
submission as there were several state and/or local level barriers to
obtaining the data needed for activity and outcome measures which
required resolution at the state level. Though some states were able to
begin collecting data in August 2015, some activity and/or outcome
measures are unavailable until at least 6-8 weeks after the end of the
data collection period due to state policies/procedures.
MCHB found similar delays in its CoIIN pilot that concluded one
year after this CoIIN cooperative agreement began. An analysis of the
pilot data showed that applying the IHI method to state public health
systems rather than clinical settings required an additional 6-8 months
to meet the quality improvement aims and show measurable improvements
in infant mortality and birth outcomes. NICHQ must continue activities
beyond the original project period (9/30/2013-9/29/2016) to achieve the
additional months of state action and learning sessions with
accompanying data submissions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vanessa Lee, MPH, Division of Healthy
Start and Perinatal Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health
Resources and Services Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 18N84,
Rockville, MD 20852, Phone: (301) 443-9992, Fax: (301) 594-0878, Email:
[email protected].
Dated: April 29, 2016.
James Macrae,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016-10514 Filed 5-4-16; 8:45 am]
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