The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today announced that the Albuquerque Coalition 4 Healthcare Quality is joining 14 other community-based programs around the country as part of an initiative to improve the quality of health care through regional cooperation.

Known as Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q), RWJF’s initiative is the largest effort of its kind ever undertaken by a U.S. philanthropy. AF4Q is the signature program in RWJF’s $300 million commitment to improve the quality of U.S. health care. It brings together patients, health care providers and payers to turn proven practices for improving quality into real results. It will lift the overall quality of health care, reduce racial disparities and provide models for national reform.

“Health care is delivered locally, but influenced by national and local factors. We must take action at every level to fix it,” said John Lumpkin M.D., M.P.H., senior vice president and the director of the Health Care Group at RWJF. “Despite having the most expensive health care system in the world, patients are subject to too many mistakes, too much miscommunication and too much inequity. As a result, too many Americans aren’t receiving the care they need and deserve. We want to help change that, and Albuquerque is a good place for us to put our ideas into action.”

The Albuquerque Coalition 4 Healthcare Quality was selected for the initiative in a competitive process to find the states and communities best positioned to make fundamental and cutting-edge changes to rebuild their health care systems. In addition to providing financial support, RWJF will provide the Albuquerque Coalition 4 Healthcare Quality with technical assistance and training from national experts.

“Everyone in the health care system wants to provide high-quality care, but the fragmented nature of our health care system often prevents key players from working together toward that common goal,” said Patricia Montoya, M.P.A., B.S.N., project director of the Albuquerque Coalition 4 Healthcare Quality. “We are excited to be selected for this initiative, so we can bring all the parties together—those who get care, give care and pay for care—to improve health care for everyone in Albuquerque.”

In addition to Albuquerque, RWJF is investing in 14 other states and communities, including: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Humboldt County (Calif.), Kansas City (Mo.), Maine, Memphis, Minnesota, Puget Sound (Wash.), South Central Pennsylvania, West Michigan, Western New York, Willamette Valley (Ore.) and Wisconsin.

“Across America, there are serious gaps between the health care that people should receive and the care they actually receive,” said Bruce Siegel, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for Health Care Quality at The George Washington University Medical Center School of Public Health and Health Services, and the director of the AF4Q national program office. “But we are seeing real progress in the AF4Q communities and are confident that Albuquerque will be a great addition to this initiative.”

AF4Q community teams strive to improve care for all patients across all settings by:

Helping physicians improve the quality of their care,
Encouraging people to use health and comparative performance information to make health care decisions,
Improving care inside hospitals, with a special focus on the role nurses play, and
Reducing inequality in care for patients of different races and ethnicities.