(RWJF: Princeton, NJ) -- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) recently announced the selection of 15 hospitals to participate in two new quality improvement programs as part of its ambitious Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative. The AF4Q is the foundation’s signature program to lift the overall quality of health care in targeted communities, reduce racial and ethnic disparities, and provide models for real reform. Over several years and through a series of intensive communitywide efforts, the communities are serving as "learning laboratories" for improving the quality of care being delivered in a given region.

The “Aligning Forces for Quality: Language Quality Improvement Collaborative” (Language QI Collaborative) will identify and test strategies for hospitals to provide timely, effective language services to patients with limited English proficiency.

The “Aligning Forces for Quality: Equity Quality Improvement Collaborative” (Equity QI Collaborative) will identify and address racial and ethnic disparities in cardiac care, and test real-world solutions.

“Although the quality of health care is poor for many Americans, we know that some patients from specific racial and ethnic backgrounds continue to experience even lower-quality health care,” says Anne F. Weiss, M.P.P., team director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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