National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality

The National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) is an action-oriented organization dedicated solely to improving the quality of health care provided to children. Founded in 1999, NICHQ's mission is to eliminate the gap between what is and what can be in health care for all children. A national organization with its home office in Boston, NICHQ also works with staff and faculty across the country.

Led by experienced pediatric healthcare professionals, NICHQ’s mission is to improve child health and well being by improving the systems responsible for the delivery of children’s healthcare. Specifically, NICHQ:

• builds sustainable system improvement capabilities;
• accelerates adoption of best practices; and
• advocates for high quality children’s healthcare.

NICHQ's efforts focus on its four part improvement agenda:

• Prevention of childhood obesity
• Promoting evidence based, family centered care for children with chronic conditions
• Purging harm from children's health care
• Promoting equity in care and outcomes for all children

For more than a decade, through the expertise of clinical and improvement leaders and parents, NICHQ has directly shaped the quality of care for children and youth in the areas of access and efficiency in office practice, asthma, autism, children in foster care, diabetes, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cystic fibrosis, hearing loss, epilepsy, obesity, oral health, neonatal care, prevention and spina bifida.