Strategic Practice Selection Exercise
June 29, 2012
The Strategic Practice Selection Exercise is a data driven decision making exercise to show how health departments can use a strategic practice selection process to assess the availability, affordability, accessibility, and utility of potential interventions. The priority areas selected for this exercise...
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Key Ingredients in Public Health Quality Improvement
May 29, 2012
The emphasis on quality improvement (QI) continues to intensify for public health departments. The growing focus on accreditation, along with realistic concerns about optimizing efficiency while positively impacting the public’s health, are fueling this interest. To support the efforts of health departments...
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Improving the Planning and Performance Measurement Reporting System
June 27, 2011
The goal of this rapid cycle improvement (RCI) project was to streamline the reporting process of the Minnesota Planning and Performance Measurement Reporting System to improve the content and quality of the data submitted and add more value for state and local stakeholders. RCI PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act)...
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Conduct a Personalized SWOT: Align Yourself for Professional Growth
June 16, 2011
This free resource offers tools and methods for individuals to learn how to fully promote their talents, skills, and abilities within their organization. The personal SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) is a useful tool for investigating conflict between individual and organizational...
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Sedgwick County Health Department Storyboard - WIC Wait Times
April 4, 2011
The Quality Improvement Committee at the Sedgwick County Health Department (SCHD) in Kansas identified improving the wait time for the Women Infants and Children (WIC) clinic as one of the eight improvement areas to address in an effort to develop a culture of QI at the agency.
AIM StatementTo pro...
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Using QI Skills in Daily Work
January 12, 2011
"Using QI Skills in Daily Work" was co-authored by PHF quality improvement consultants John W. Moran and Grace L. Duffy with Beth Pierson, Epidemiologist for Planning and Assessment at the Franklin County Board of Health in Ohio. The article was published in the Quality Management Forum, a Peer-Reviewed...
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Ready, AIM, Problem Solve
September 14, 2010
Narrowing a problem statement to a discrete issue promotes a focus for effectively applying QI tools. A lack of focus on real issues can cause a loss of valuable problem-solving time. The October 2009 edition of the Quality Texas Foundation Update includes an article on this quality improvement process....
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TAPP into the PDCA Cycle
September 14, 2010
Written by PHF’s Senior Quality Advisor, John W. Moran, and quality improvement experts Grace Duffy and William Riley, this article in ASQ’s May 2009 Healthcare Update describes how to improve the management of public health processes through setting performance targets, measuring key quality characteristics,...
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Utilizing the Advanced Tools of QI to Solve Problems: Understanding the Challenges Public Organizations Will Face in 2010
September 13, 2010
Written by Ron Bialek, Sarah Gillen, and John W. Moran in early 2010, this white paper highlights the advanced tools of QI that are designed to deal with complex issues that are not obvious without detailed analysis. This analysis guides away from the simple answer and into a process of continual refinement...
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Using QI Tools to Make a Difference in H1N1 Flu Immunization Clinics
September 13, 2010
In January 2010, public health professionals from the Northern Kentucky Independent District Health Department and PHF produced a white paper entitled “Using QI Tools to Make a Difference in H1N1 Flu Immunization Clinics: A Local Health Department's Experience,” citing a clear example of quality improvement...
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