From Statewide Reach to Statewide Impact

CPCQC’s 2026–2030 Strategic Plan

By W. Spencer McClelland, MD, FACOG, Board Chair

The Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative (CPCQC) has grown as a statewide partner connecting hospitals, clinicians, public agencies, community organizations, and people with lived experience. CEO Rebecca Alderfer and her team have expanded the organization’s reach, built the infrastructure to support hospitals and communities statewide, and strengthened its ability to use data to drive lasting change. As Board Chair, I have seen firsthand the creativity, passion, and partnership behind that work. 

Our 2026–2030 Strategic Plan sets the next direction for that work: turning statewide reach into measurable impact and advancing safer, more equitable care for every pregnant and postpartum person, infant, and family in Colorado.

How We Built a Statewide Foundation

Senate Bill 24-175, the Improving Perinatal Health Outcomes Act, created a statewide framework for perinatal quality improvement. It requires every eligible Colorado hospital that operates a labor and delivery unit or neonatal intensive care unit to participate annually in at least one CPCQC-led initiative. It also strengthens statewide data collection and supports hospitals that may otherwise lack the resources to participate fully.

CPCQC helped develop and advance the legislation, but passage did not guarantee success. In just 18 months, however, Rebecca and her team brought all 50 eligible hospitals into participation, a remarkable testament to their ability to build relationships. The resulting statewide presence allows teams across urban, rural, and frontier settings to learn together, use shared data, and adapt evidence-based practices to their communities.

The work is producing measurable value. Turning the Tide, CPCQC’s initiative addressing perinatal substance use, has generated an estimated $1.99 in social value for every dollar invested. Participating hospitals achieved a 94 percent screening rate, with 87 percent receiving a referral or treatment after screening positive. Those results show what quality improvement work can deliver when done right.

Where We Still Need to Go

We are proud of how far we have come but also recognize the work that lies ahead.

Maternity care is becoming more fragile across Colorado, especially as federal policy and funding uncertainty place added pressure on state and local systems. More than one-third of Colorado counties are maternity care deserts, and rural hospitals face financial and operational pressures that make labor and delivery services difficult to sustain. At the same time, disparities persist across Colorado communities because of inequities in access, income, insurance coverage, and the systems surrounding care.

Perinatal health is shaped by what happens beyond the birth hospitalization—from behavioral health and substance-use treatment to emergency services, transportation, and postpartum follow-up. Our next phase must connect improvement inside birthing hospitals with care and support before admission, after discharge, and throughout the first year postpartum.

How We Shaped This Plan Together

To frame the work ahead, we crafted CPCQC’s 2026–2030 Strategic Plan. We did not create it behind closed doors. We listened to hospital teams, clinical and community partners, people with lived experience, policymakers, funders, staff, and Board members. The Board and staff then evaluated what we heard against CPCQC’s mission, capabilities, partnerships, and responsibility to the state, focusing the plan where the organization can make the greatest difference.

Where We Will Focus Next

That work will center on four connected priorities:

• Expand access to high-quality rural perinatal care. We will partner with  rural and frontier communities to strengthen readiness, sustain essential care, and build reliable connections across hospitals, emergency services, referral centers, and community partners.
• Strengthen statewide data infrastructure. We will give teams better tools to see disparities, identify opportunities, learn faster, and measure whether changes reach the families most affected.
• Support meaningful policy and systems change. We will bring clinical experience, community perspective, evidence, and implementation expertise into policy discussions—and help translate policy into better care.
• Sustain impactful quality improvement across hospitals and care settings. We will deepen the work in birthing hospitals while extending improvement across postpartum, behavioral health, emergency, outpatient, and community-based care.

Our four priorities describe where CPCQC will focus its statewide impact. Delivering on them also requires a financially resilient organization. In an uncertain funding environment, we will continue a core focus on  financial oversight, diversifying revenue, investing in our people and leadership, and maintaining disciplined governance so CPCQC can sustain this work over time.

How We Will Move Forward Together

CPCQC has never done this work alone. We rely on clinicians, patients and families, hospital leaders, public health teams, community organizations, and policymakers—each bringing different knowledge and experience. Our role is to provide the data, coordination, and practical support they need to improve care across Colorado.

Colorado has made significant progress. Our next task is to make that progress sustainable, equitable, and present in every community—to turn statewide reach into statewide impact.