Vermont Oxford Network

Vermont Oxford Network Transforming data into action to help save babies lives.

Vermont Oxford Network (VON) is a nonprofit voluntary collaboration of health care professionals working together as an interdisciplinary community to change the landscape of neonatal care. Founded in 1988, VON is now comprised of teams of health professionals representing neonatal intensive care units and level I and II care centers around the world, in support of our mission to improve the quality and safety of medical care for newborn infants and their families through a coordinated program of research, education, and quality improvement projects.

It's here! We've reached our #1 on our Top 10 list from Dr. Kaplan's review of VON Quality Improvement key takeaways! ...
12/19/2025

It's here! We've reached our #1 on our Top 10 list from Dr. Kaplan's review of VON Quality Improvement key takeaways!

#1: Early wins! Which means we’re either doing something right… or we got lucky. Either way—let’s celebrate!

Across the year, teams are demonstrating real, measurable progress: fewer lab draws, better documentation of pain scores, and creative tracking of sleep interruptions or other neuroprotective care processes. These early wins build momentum and confidence—proof that progress is possible. And as teams continue to improve processes, the outcomes will follow. Small wins today drive the big improvements of tomorrow.

We've seen improvements in all 5 All Care is Brain Care topic groups. Scroll through the slides to see some examples of the great work and then make a plan to join us next year!

To learn more about our All Care is Brain Care Collaborative or to enroll your center for 2026, please visit: https://bit.ly/3WV67bR

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams....
12/17/2025

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams. Dr. Heather Kaplan, VON faculty member, outlined an old-fashioned "Top 10 List" to show all the great learnings from the year. We just have 2 to go! Be sure to check out the previous posts for the whole list.

#2: Teams aren’t backing down. They looked challenge in the eye and said, “You picked the wrong improvement team.”

Teams are tackling outcomes that are tough to influence—but critically important for babies and families. Rather than avoiding hard-to-measure areas like pain, pokes, parental wellbeing, or IVH in outborn infants, they’re leaning in. Their persistence reflects a deep commitment to high-value improvement where it matters most, even when the pathway isn’t straightforward.

To learn more about our All Care is Brain Care Collaborative or to enroll your center for 2026, please visit: https://bit.ly/3WV67bR

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams....
12/15/2025

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams. Dr. Heather Kaplan, VON faculty member, outlined an old-fashioned "Top 10 List" to show all the great learnings from the year. Over the next few weeks, we will highlight these measurement lessons.

Coming in at #3 on the Top 10: Small numbers are tricky. But hey, so is assembling IKEA furniture and we still manage that.

⭐Even though the burden of prematurity is high, individual NICUs care for relatively small numbers of very preterm infants, and associated morbidities occur infrequently. In fact, recent VON Nightingale data shows that half of participating NICUs admit fewer than 37 VLBW infants per year.
When observations are limited, plotting subgroups monthly can challenge traditional run and control charts—especially when many points fall at 0 or 100, or when control limits disappear entirely. In these cases, G-charts can help by tracking the number of patients between rare events, making patterns clearer and easier to act on. With the right chart, even small numbers can tell a meaningful story.

To learn more about our All Care is Brain Care Collaborative or to enroll your center for 2026, please visit: https://bit.ly/3WV67bR

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams....
12/12/2025

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams. Dr. Heather Kaplan, VON faculty member, outlined an old-fashioned "Top 10 List" to show all the great learnings from the year. Over the next few weeks, we will highlight these measurement lessons.

Top 10 #4: If your outcomes didn’t budge, your theory might be less “elegant framework” and more “wishful thinking."

⭐When outcomes fail to improve, it’s a signal to revisit the team’s theory of change—and update the driver diagram accordingly. As teams test interventions, the realities of workflow, timing, and bottlenecks often reveal gaps in the original framework. For example, groups aiming to reduce IV administration time during the golden hour refined their theory as they learned more about delays and touchpoints. Continuous theory refinement ensures that the project remains aligned with what actually works at the bedside.

To learn more about our All Care is Brain Care Collaborative or to enroll your center for 2026, please visit: https://bit.ly/3WV67bR

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams....
12/10/2025

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams. Dr. Heather Kaplan, VON faculty member, outlined an old-fashioned "Top 10 List" to show all the great learnings from the year. Over the next few weeks, we will highlight these measurement lessons.

Coming in at #5: The EMR - no longer just a maze of confusing clicks. Use it!

⭐The EMR is a powerhouse for QI teams, offering real time data to identify gaps, monitor processes, and measure change. It supports evidence-based decision making, streamlines workflows, and enhances coordination and safety across the care team. By analyzing trends and tracking outcomes teams can directly evaluate the impact of their interventions. Even tricky to measure concepts like Reducing Pain and Pokes become measurable when teams track labs, PIV attempts, blood gases or even pain assessments through the EMR.

To learn more about our All Care is Brain Care Collaborative or to enroll your center for 2026, please visit https://bit.ly/3WV67bR

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams....
12/08/2025

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams. Dr. Heather Kaplan, VON faculty member, outlined an old-fashioned "Top 10 List" to show all the great learnings from the year. Over the next few weeks, we will highlight these measurement lessons.

Coming in at #6: Rational subgrouping - the only time breaking things into smaller groups actually helps your sanity :)

⭐Rational subgrouping organizes data in a way that makes each subgroup as similar as possible-and meaningfully different from other groups-so signals of change are easier to detect in practice this might mean grouping data by factors such as race, location, diagnosis, or even shift depending on what influences the process.
For example, a team improving skin-to-skin care saw overall rates rising but when they sub-grouped by gestational age using an SPC chart, they discovered meaningful differences in the time to skin to skin. Organizing data thoughtfully helps teams uncover these patterns and reveal opportunities that averages alone can hide.

To learn more about our All Care is Brain Care Collaborative or to enroll your center for 2026, please visit: https://bit.ly/3WV67bR

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams....
12/05/2025

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams. Dr. Heather Kaplan, VON faculty member, outlined an old-fashioned "Top 10 List" to show all the great learnings from the year. Over the next few weeks, we will highlight these measurement lessons.

Coming in at #7: Stratifying data - because averages are great—unless you're trying to spot inequities hiding in plain statistical sight.

Stratifying data involves organizing information into meaningful groups such as primary language, birth age, or gender. In the example shown, overall skin-to-skin rates improved from 33% to 52%. When the team stratified by primary language, they uncovered lower rates among non-English-speaking families—revealing an equity-focused improvement opportunity that averages alone would have obscured.

To learn more about our All Care is Brain Care Collaborative or to enroll your center for 2026, please visit: https://bit.ly/3WV67bR

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams....
12/04/2025

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams. Dr. Heather Kaplan, VON faculty member, outlined an old-fashioned "Top 10 List" to show all the great learnings from the year. Over the next few weeks, we will highlight these measurement lessons.

Coming in at 8: Measurement is in every PDSA - because if you didn’t quantify it, did it even happen?
Measurement is essential to every PDSA cycle, providing the data needed to determine whether a change achieved its intended effect. Teams used both qualitative and quantitative measures during the “Study” phase. For example, one team evaluating golden hour performance tracked time to top-down on the incubator and also identified delays and barriers—insights that informed their next PDSA iteration.

To learn more about our All Care is Brain Care Collaborative or to enroll your center for 2026, please visit: https://bit.ly/3WV67bR

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams....
12/03/2025

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams. Dr. Heather Kaplan, VON faculty member, outlined an old-fashioned "Top 10 List" to show all the great learnings from the year. Over the next few weeks, we will highlight these measurement lessons.

Coming in at number 9: Pareto Charts—finally a way to prove 80% of our problems come from 20% of our effort!
⭐A Pareto chart combines bar and line graphs to highlight which factors have the greatest impact. This helps teams focus QI efforts on the “vital few” items most in need of attention. Examples shared here include causes of peripheral IV failure, procedures contributing most to pain, and staff-identified reasons for intubation.

To learn more about our All Care is Brain Care Collaborative or to enroll your center for 2026, please visit: https://bit.ly/3WV67bR

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams....
12/02/2025

In November, we hosted our QI Collaborative team members for a webinar to recap the great work done by all the QI teams. Dr. Heather Kaplan, VON faculty member, outlined an old-fashioned "Top 10 List" to show all the great learnings from the year. Over the next few weeks, we will highlight these measurement lessons.

Coming in at 10: Qualitative data: because sometimes numbers just don’t get us!
⭐Qualitative data captures the “why” behind the numbers—insights that can be observed but not measured numerically. In multidisciplinary QI work, this often comes from staff or family surveys and provides meaningful context to support a project’s findings. It also offers valuable feedback to guide and refine PDSA cycles.

To learn more about joining the QI Collaborative in 2026, please visit https://bit.ly/3WV67bR.

The VON team is heading to DC next week to the Hot Topics in Neonatology conference. We'd love to chat with you about a...
12/01/2025

The VON team is heading to DC next week to the Hot Topics in Neonatology conference. We'd love to chat with you about all our programs including:
⭐: Our databases
⭐: Our QI Collaborative All Care is Brain Care
⭐: New publications using VON data
⭐: What to expect at the VON Quality Congress in November of 2026
⭐: Connecting you to resources at VON to help with your data collection or QI projects

We will be at booth 33 all week. Be sure to stop by!

From the VON Team to your team, we are grateful for the work each and every one of you do to collect your data and work ...
11/27/2025

From the VON Team to your team, we are grateful for the work each and every one of you do to collect your data and work to improve the outcomes of infants worldwide. Happy Thanksgiving.

Please note: the VON offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday to allow our team to be with their families. We will be back Monday, December 1st.

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