Birth Quality Designation

Illinois Birthing Hospital Quality Designation Program with funding from BCBSIL Special Beginnings® Program

Celebrating Hospital Excellence

Congratulations to the teams who received PVB and BE QI Excellence Awards! We now have 64 hospitals who have received BE QI Excellence awards and 68 hospital teams who have achieved PVB QI Excellence. We’re especially proud of the hospitals that are continuously engaging their patient & community partner and holding a Respectful Care Breakfast.

Mini-Grants Supporting Your Momentum

We’re thrilled to share that 61 mini-grants have now been disbursed to support hospitals working toward the Illinois Birthing Hospital Quality Designation Excellence Award. These funds are helping teams sustain the work with Birth Equity (BE) and Promoting Vaginal Births (PVB) goals across the state.

The Pathway to Designation:

Submit any outstanding PVB or BE Sustainability Plans to illinoispqc@gmail.com. The Promoting Vaginal Birth Sustainability Plan template can be found HERE (pdf) and HERE (docx). The Birth Equity Sustainability Plan template can be found HERE (pdf) and HERE (docx).
Submit the REDCap Access Request Form to inform us who will need access to the new REDCap data form to submit monthly quality designation and sustainability data.
Submit the monthly sustainability data form to track progress towards Illinois Birthing Hospital Quality Designation and key BE and PVB sustainability measures. Paper form HERE.
Mini-grant application by April 1, 2025 (closed), for the opportunity to receive money for patient and community engagement and quality improvement science and equity training to implement key strategies as you work towards Illinois Birthing Hospital Quality Designation HERE
Register for and attend the next Sustainability and Quality Designation Webinar.
Complete quality designation application by September 30th, 2025.

Application and Information

Mini-Grants

All hospital teams were eligible to receive mini-grants (for 2025 and 2026) to support implementation of key strategies for sustaining Promoting Vaginal Birth (PVB) and Birth Equity work. Each hospital team could receive up to $3,750 per year to support various patient and community engagement activities, quality improvement (QI) science, and equity training.

The application period for mini-grants closed on April 1, 2025. Applications submitted during the open period are being reviewed in the order received. Receiving a mini-grant does not impact a hospital’s eligibility for the Birth Quality Designation award. ILPQC will follow up with mini-grant recipients for progress updates and a final report on how funds were used.

To process payment, ILPQC will register funded hospitals as vendors within the Northwestern University system. ILPQC will contact the hospital’s primary contact to gather the necessary information (beginning with a completed W-9). Please note that vendor registration and payment may take several weeks to complete.

The Illinois Birth Hospital Quality Designation Program application and monetary award process is separate and NOW OPEN.

What Can Your Mini-Grant Fund?

Get Funded: Activities That Qualify for a Mini-Grant

Respectful Care Breakfast
- Funding available: Up to $500 total for two or more breakfasts
Patient Partner Payment for teams with an identified Patient Partner
- Funding available: Up to $300 total for participation in up to 6 meetings per year
Mommas Voices training for teams with an identified Patient Partner
- Funding available: Up to $450 per Patient Partner)
Clinical Staff Training for Equity & QI Implementation. Invest in training to promote equitable, respectful care and quality improvement practices. Examples include:
- IHI training for QI team leads and members
- Equity-focused video discussions for clinical teams
- Doula training and integration (e.g., Doula meet-and-greets)
- Labor management support tools and techniques (e.g., Spinning Babies, labor support carts)
  - Funding available: Up to $2,500 total for training activities.

Resources

Our goal is to keep you informed and equipped with evidence-based resources that advance maternal and infant health. We invite you to explore our updates and share in the work of improving outcomes for all families.

Stay engaged. Stay informed. Together, we make care better.

View Resources and Webinars