Centers of Excellence in Healthcare Quality and Safety
🏛 Centers for Disease Control - NCEZID
Can you apply?
This grant is for healthcare organizations and institutions seeking to establish or expand centers focused on healthcare quality and safety improvements. Eligible recipients include academic medical centers, hospitals, healthcare delivery systems, and public health institutions. The program supports multidisciplinary centers that conduct research, training, and technical assistance in infection prevention, healthcare-associated infections, and patient safety. Geographic scope is national, and applicants must demonstrate institutional capacity to develop robust quality and safety programs.
Key dates
- Apr 21, 2026 Applications open
- Jan 4, 2027 Application deadline in 214 days
- May 4, 2027 Award announced
- Jun 1, 2027 Project start
This grant is for healthcare organizations and institutions seeking to establish or expand centers focused on healthcare quality and safety improvements. Eligible recipients include academic medical centers, hospitals, healthcare delivery systems, and public health institutions. The program supports multidisciplinary centers that conduct research, training, and technical assistance in infection prevention, healthcare-associated infections, and patient safety. Geographic scope is national, and applicants must demonstrate institutional capacity to develop robust quality and safety programs.
Program description
This Program will create a collaborative network of healthcare systems, facilities and public health partners to rapidly detect, respond to, and prevent threats to patient and healthcare worker safety. This Program will support work that improves the safety, quality and resilience of U.S. healthcare delivery.
The Program will be made up of healthcare systems inclusive of multiple facilities in a variety of settings, including acute care hospitals (particularly community hospitals, critical access, hospitals, and rural hospitals), long-term acute care hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis centers, emergency rooms and urgent care centers, outpatient facilities and home health providers.
The Program will include healthcare systems and facilities partnering with public health departments and other entities or groups with relevant expertise. However, each individual applicant is not expected to have all elements.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
- 501(c)(3) Public Charity
- City / Municipal Government
- County Government
- Hospital
- Nonprofits
- Private University
- Public Authority
- Public K-12 School
- Public University
- Small Business (SBA-defined)
- Special District
- State Government
- Tribal Nation
- Tribal Organization
Details
This grant is for healthcare organizations and institutions seeking to establish or expand centers focused on healthcare quality and safety improvements. Eligible recipients include academic medical centers, hospitals, healthcare delivery systems, and public health institutions. The program supports multidisciplinary centers that conduct research, training, and technical assistance in infection prevention, healthcare-associated infections, and patient safety. Geographic scope is national, and applicants must demonstrate institutional capacity to develop robust quality and safety programs.
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- SF-424 and SF-424 Supplement
- Project Narrative (typically 15-20 pages)
- Budget and Budget Justification
- Institutional Support Documentation
- Organizational Capacity Narrative
- Letters of Commitment from Partners
- Data Management Plan
- Evaluation Plan
Program contact
- 👤 Carla Doan
- 📧 gon5@cdc.gov
- 📞 770-488-8354
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.084 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$38,976,182
-
$22,287,577
-
$18,039,237
-
$18,039,235
-
$17,839,237
-
$17,839,237
-
$17,480,639
-
$15,029,422
-
$14,514,102
-
$14,074,106
Top States by Funding
- CA 9 awards $53.8M
- MA 5 awards $49.9M
- HI 2 awards $46.9M
- PR 5 awards $43.3M
- MD 5 awards $33.0M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.084). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $87,140,496 | |
| 2025 | $62,240,551 | |
| 2026 est. | $31,579,853 |
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
Academic medical centers, hospitals, healthcare systems, and public health institutions. Your organization should have strong research and clinical infrastructure.
What activities does this grant fund?
Research and evaluation in healthcare quality and safety. Training and education programs. Technical assistance and dissemination of best practices.
How competitive is this funding?
Highly competitive. CDC expects applicants to demonstrate innovation, institutional commitment, and measurable outcomes in quality and safety improvements.
What should I include in my application?
A strong quality improvement plan. Evidence of institutional support and partnerships. Budget and detailed work plan. Letters from clinical and research leadership.
When should I expect to hear back?
Federal applications typically have 6-12 month review timelines. Check the RFP for specific notification dates once released.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Start by reviewing similar CDC quality and safety grants to understand evaluation expectations. CDC emphasizes measurement and data-driven outcomes.
- Build a multidisciplinary team early. Include clinicians, epidemiologists, quality specialists, and data analysts in your planning.
- Focus on healthcare-associated infections and patient safety metrics. These are NCEZID priorities and should be central to your proposal.
- Establish partnerships with other healthcare systems. Collaboration strengthens competitiveness and demonstrates broader impact.
- Document your institutional infrastructure. Show staff qualifications, clinical facilities, and existing quality programs you'll build on.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications fail when they lack measurable outcomes or focus too heavily on activities rather than impact. Applicants sometimes underestimate the need for strong epidemiologic expertise and infection prevention leadership. Weak data management plans and unclear pathways for disseminating findings are frequent reasons for rejection.
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