In 2018, NCHA restructured the North Carolina Healthcare Foundation (NCHF) with a new Board of Directors and enhanced relationships with essential partners to focus on supporting health improvement work. In this transition the Rural Center and North Carolina Quality Center were folded under the NCHC umbrella. In early November, The Duke Endowment’s Board of Trustees awarded a $4 million two-year grant to the NC Healthcare Foundation to launch a new (tentatively named) NCHF Center for Health Innovation. The Center’s core purpose will be to identify, enhance and accelerate the statewide adaptation of innovative clinical models that increase access, influence equitable care delivery and improve clinical outcomes.
The Foundation is working to improve care for North Carolinians through collaborative clinical initiatives and innovative models. We are committed to improving outcomes for patients by:
- Promoting a fair and just patient safety culture.
- Optimizing teamwork and communication among healthcare professionals by fostering a culture of accountability.
- Ensuring evidence-based care processes through reliable system design.
- Gaining knowledge through organizational learning.
Here are our current clinical initiatives:
NCHA Staff Contact

Sue Collier, MSN, RN, FABC
Vice President, Innovation & Clinical Excellence
NC Healthcare Foundation
919-677-4121
scollier@ncha.org
Patient Safety Organization
The Quality Center Patient Safety Organization provides a secure environment for healthcare providers in NC and other states to voluntarily report, discuss and learn from patient safety events.
Model Opioid Practices
NCHA is working with our partners to improve care pathways and to identify and disseminate model opioid practices for providers.
Peer Support Program
The Peer Support program seeks to improve connections to ongoing treatment, [glossary_exclude]recovery[/glossary_exclude], and harm reduction supports for patients presenting to emergency departments with non-fatal opioid overdose.
Critical Access Hospital Collaborative
This collaborative learning [glossary_exclude]network[/glossary_exclude], in partnership with the NC Office of Rural Health, aims to improve quality and safety of patient care by improving [glossary_exclude]performance[/glossary_exclude] in [glossary_exclude]inpatient[/glossary_exclude] and [glossary_exclude]outpatient[/glossary_exclude] [glossary_exclude]core measures[/glossary_exclude], certain care transition measures and patient scores.
ICU Safety Program
NCHA, along with the NC Division of Public Health, will be leading a year-long ICU Safety Program to reduce CLABSI and CAUTI. This program is in collaboration with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Health Research and Educational Trust.
Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program
NCHA supports the implementation of small, rural hospital improvement projects for 33 small, rural hospitals through the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP).
Equity of Care
North Carolina hospitals and health systems are committed to eliminating health disparities so that everyone has access to the care they need to achieve their highest potential for health.
Behavioral Health Resources
NCHA has created a resource directory for providers with support from the North Carolina Office of Rural Health, a division of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
NC Mobile Medication Program
The NC Mobile Medication Program ensures that people at [glossary_exclude]risk[/glossary_exclude] of psychiatric hospitalizations understand and stay on track with their medications.
Pneumonia Knockout
The Pneumonia Knockout Initiative partnered with hospitals, health systems, and community providers to reduce statewide pneumonia [glossary_exclude]mortality[/glossary_exclude] and readmission rates.
Just Culture Materials
NCHA has a licensing agreement with Outcome Engenuity, LLC to offer Just Culture Materials at a discounted rate to all North Carolina hospitals and healthcare facilities. For more information on the NC Just Culture Materials contact Sarah Roberts at (919) 677-4139.