External Research Partner Spotlight: Dr. Susan Hwang

January 16, 2023

Susan Hwang, MD has partnered with the Colorado Lab on the Substance Exposed Newborns project since its inception. Dr. Hwang is a neonatologist, health services researcher, and perinatal quality improvement expert at Children’s Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She leads the Colorado Hospitals Substance Exposed Newborn (CHoSEN) Quality Improvement Collaborative (QIC) and the Data-driven Engagement of Families to Improve the NICU Experience (DEFINE) QIC. Dr. Hwang founded CHoSEN in 2017, recognizing the need to access and analyze data across systems to improve the identification and response to newborns prenatally exposed to substances.

“Addressing the many needs of children and families affected by perinatal substance use requires a multi-disciplinary effort with data shared across several systems, and no other organization has the research capabilities and legislative authority to access current data from across multiple systems,” Dr. Hwang said. “I particularly appreciate the Colorado Lab’s openness to hearing our perspectives as clinical experts, creating the space for us to work together, and their focus on quickly translating findings into practice and policy change.” The information learned from connecting birth and child welfare data, says Dr. Hwang, “has already helped us identify the over-representation of substance-exposed newborns in our NICUs across Colorado and highlighted an area of opportunity to focus efforts on family engagement for those with longer than anticipated birth hospitalizations.”

Call for External Research Partners

If you are interested in being considered for future projects and have not done so already, please learn more and fill out the brief questionnaire.