Purpose

The John S. Curran Quality Improvement Award annually recognizes a Florida maternity hospital or children’s hospital with a NICU that has achieved a positive measurable and sustained change in a major perinatal quality improvement indicator/issue through the implementation of quality improvement activities within the last three years. Major perinatal quality indicators are those endorsed or recognized by national and other quality improvement entities including the National Quality Forum (NQF), Joint Commission (JC), Vermont Oxford Network (VON), The Leapfrog Group, Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Eligibility

All maternity/NICU hospitals in the state of Florida are encouraged to apply.

Criteria

• Florida maternity hospital or children’s hospital with NICU

• Perinatal health care quality improvement initiative implemented since 2023

• Measurable and sustained improvement in a major perinatal quality improvement indicator

• Tangible population impacts especially among high risk or vulnerable populations of mothers and infants

Application

Click here to download the application. Please submit a complete application and all attachments in one e-mail to FPQC@usf.edu by December 10, 2026.

Previous Awardees

• 2020 – Tampa General Hospital, “TGH Access LARC (Long-Acting Reversible Contraception) Initiative”

• 2019 – UF Health Jacksonville, “Choosing Wisely: Antibiotic Stewardship in the NICU"

• 2018 – Wolfson Children’s Hospital, “NICU CLABSI Reduction Project”

• 2017 – Lee Heath System, “Decreasing Maternal Morbidity in a Multi-Hospital System” 

Questions? FPQC@usf.edu