Spring 2021 Learning Session

The NPC-QIC Spring Virtual Learning Session was a dynamic day of collaboration among 330 participants from across the country, including providers, parents, and patients. The meeting highlights included presentations and discussions around health equity, an update on the soon-to-be-launched Fontan Outcomes Network, and how to provide quality emotional and mental health care and services for patients and families.

NPC-QIC currently has more than 70 cardiac centers working together to improve care and outcomes for infants with HLHS. Outcomes to date are impressive, achieving and sustaining a 46% reduction in mortality during the interstage period.

The Learning Session is a bi-annual opportunity for participating centers, including their patients and families, to come together to share best practices, discuss critical topics of importance, and learn from one another.

Health equity presentations focused on how to find and examine data to identify disparities followed by some really honest dialogue about how to identify and change the causes of those disparities. Sessions on emotional and mental health covered the “NAP” method: Normalize + Ask + Pause. The emotional health breakout session included a tremendous presentation by a fellow HLHS mom sharing her interstage experience, including their stay at the Ronald McDonald House during the entirety of her infant's interstage period. An update regarding the Fontan Outcomes Network (FON) was met with much enthusiasm by providers and families. FON is a new learning network, building a registry to collect data on Fontan patients throughout their lifespan in order to improve outcomes for patients and their families.For more information on NPC-QIC and how to get involved, visit www.npcqic.org or email info@npcqic.org.For more information on FON, please visit www.fontanoutcomesnetwork.org