Building on more than a decade of collaborative work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and national public health partner organizations, the
2018 Public Health Improvement Training (PHIT) offers networking opportunities alongside interactive
learning and skill-building sessions, with topics including quality improvement (QI), performance management, national voluntary accreditation, health assessment, and improvement planning. Annually, PHIT features hands-on sessions and discussion groups that renew commitment to performance excellence and inspire new insight long after the convening ends. PHIT 2018 is taking place June 26-28 in Atlanta, GA. The Public Health Foundation (PHF) will offer four total sessions at this year's event, including one post-PHIT workshop.
At PHIT, you will learn from practitioners, professional trainers, and national partners, participate in small workshops, gain insight into the relationships between various public health improvement initiatives and tools, including accreditation and state/community health improvement planning frameworks, and hear and share valuable tips. This networking event is for performance improvement professionals and those interested in the improvement of public health agencies, systems, and community health.
PHF experts will lead the following sessions at PHIT 2018:
Making Sure Performance Management is Working for You
June 26, 2018, 10:15 - 11:45 AM
June 26, 2018, 1:00 - 2:30 PM
If leading performance management is a new role for you or you are looking for a better approach to strengthen performance management at the program level, this session is for you. Getting program level personnel involved in understanding how the performance management system functions is a key driver for success and transitioning to a performance management culture. Participants will leave this session with an understanding of the four quadrants of the performance management system and resources for making progress on performance management. This session will include an example of assessing the performance management system at the program level presented by Dan Ward from the
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Division of Public Health. Participants will have an opportunity to practice with tools to align programmatic efforts with the agency performance management system. Once an agency has adopted a performance management system, it is time to manage the process. Guided by PHF's
Jack Moran and
Sonja Armbruster, participants will rate themselves on the five
stages of performance management using a new tool. These progressive stages can be used to help a health department understand where they are starting from and understand some strategies to move to the next stage.
Championing Collaboration: Developing and Sustaining Successful Partnerships with Academia
June 26, 2018, 4:00 - 5:00 PM
As health departments face limited resources, partnerships with academic institutions can help extend capacity for ensuring effective delivery of public health services and improving outcomes within the community. Academic health department (AHD) partnerships – formal affiliations between health departments and academic institutions – can offer health departments numerous benefits in terms of enhancing services, supporting the development of a well-prepared workforce, facilitating community-focused research, and achieving accreditation. AHD partnerships are present throughout the country and can be structured in a variety of ways; exploring successful AHD relationships established by health departments and strategies for moving toward more comprehensive collaboration can support health departments in building or enhancing academic partnerships. In this interactive session, PHF's
Kathleen Amos and Bryn Manzella from the
Jefferson County (AL) Department of Health (JCDH) will share the experience of developing and sustaining strong AHD partnerships with academic institutions and offer participants practical tips and tools for creating and enhancing their own academic partnerships. Free resources available to support health departments in their AHD efforts will also be shared, including sample agreements that organizations have used to formalize their partnerships and opportunities for guidance and mentorship on AHD partnership development.
Aligning the Plans for Performance Management
June 27, 2018, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Whether your agency is preparing for accreditation, preparing for reaccreditation, or on a renewed path toward internal agency effectiveness, aligning work across the agency, especially among the many required plans, can present a challenge. This challenge exists whether you are creating plans for the first time, working with existing structures or revising plans. This interactive session led by PHF's
Sonja Armbruster will explore using the performance management plan as a framework for aligning the other PHAB required prerequisite plans: Community Health Assessment, Emergency Operations Plan, Organizational Branding Strategy, Community Health Improvement Plan, Strategic Plan, Workforce Development Plan, and Quality Improvement Plan. Participants will utilize peer learning to discuss alignment strategies that work and barriers to alignment among the key plans. You've likely heard that adage: "What gets measured gets done;" however, its origin is likely Peter Drucker's phrase "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it." Participants in this session will practice with designing measures as a lens for aligning plans and documenting that alignment. This session aims to equip participants with actionable tools for leading effective alignment of plans and increase their confidence in managing that process.
Please note: preregistration is required for this post-PHIT workshop.
Start Spreading the News! Embrace and Maximize Your Communications Efforts
June 28, 2018, 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Communications efforts often weigh on staff in health departments because of lack of skills, confidence, and strategies that will connect your message with a target audience. How can you make your colleagues, partners, and community more aware and engaged in your health department’s work? How can you apply strategic communications specifically to your work in performance improvement? In this communications workshop with PHF's
Sonja Armbruster and
Russ Rubin, you will learn how to use practical communications tools, strategies, and exercises that will keep your message focused, fresh, and frustration-free. This interactive workshop will get you started on creating your own tailored
Planning Before You Communicate Tool, and make communications planning the easiest part of the project.
Information Display Table
Please also stop by PHF’s table at the event for helpful resources and tools to assist you with your work in performance management, QI, and workforce development, including:
For more information about customized technical assistance and training services from PHF, contact Margie Beaudry mbeaudry@phf.org or (202)218-4415, or submit your inquiry online.