Public Health Memory Jogger II

Wed, 02/10/2016 - 17:15 -- gkroberts

Hi Everyone,

My agency is considering purchasing and distributing The Public Health Memory Jogger II pocket guide to help provide QI support to the staff. I know this is a handy little toolkit that is used in many other health departments. For those of you that have experience, can you tell me who you distributed these to (QI Council, leadership team, etc)? Has this been useful? I'm hesitant to agree to purchase a ton of these and then finding them just sitting in a box. Any lessons learned/advice is appreciated!

Thanks!

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Submitted by bpalinski2 on

Hi Gurleen,

We first purchased these books for all staff in 2014 as part of NACCHO's ASI grant iniative to develop QI for our agency. We gave one to every staff member at that time during the all-staff QI training.

Some staff have reported finding benefit from having the books but I know quite a few staff have probably never opened them again after the QI training if they weren't directly involved in a QI project.

For your purposes, I might recommend buying enough for your QI Council, and possibly then having a set for QI teams to share (i.e. staff return them at the end of their project for another QI team to use). The books are certainly filled with useful information, and are laid out in a fairly intuitive manner. 

But if you're hesitatnt to buy one for every staff member, buying a smaller set for just your Council / project teams might present you with the opportunity to get staff opinions on their usefulness without breaking the bank and buying a lot that may or may not be used. 

 

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Brandon Palinski, MPH-VPH, SIT
Quality Assurance & Accreditation Coordinator
Toledo-Lucas County Health Department
419.213.4136
palinskb@co.lucas.oh.us
www.lucascountyhealth.com

Submitted by tkane on

Hi Gurleen. In response to your question: "is it useful" ... I think it is important to put QI resources in the hands of staff. A strength of the Memory Jogger (and resources like it) is the step-by-step instructions provided that detail "How to do it" for each QI tool. This feature makes it possible for staff of all skill levels to effectively walk through a QI tool. 

Another helpful resource is the Public Health Quality Improvement Encyclopedia which can be purchases via the Public Health Foundation website. There are a number of free resources available too, including: 

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Jill Almond's picture
Submitted by Jill Almond on


I gave each member of the QI Council (12 individuals)  a copy of the memory jogger.

When working with smaller teams, I make copies of the appropriate tools that we will be using.

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Submitted by QIangeloni on

Hi!

I provide one Memory Jogger to all of staff attending the QI training in my department (and therefore the QI Council has one). One time the order didn't arrive on time for the training time, so not everyone received it, and staff definitely made sure to remind me about it and came to my office to get it! But I agree with Brandon, I think some staff never opened it after the training :( , so I would say only offer it to the QI Council and  trainees, as it is a good reference to have, but keep in mind there are so many other tools online now that if someone REALLY wants to find it, they will. The Memory Jogger is a cute, useful book, but I haven't found staff referring to it after the training!

magali.angeloni@health.ri.gov

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Magali Angeloni, DrPH, MBA
Rhode Island Department of Health's Academic Center Director
magali.angeloni@health.ri.gov

Submitted by MelodyR on

Hi Gurleen,

We give QI team participants the Memory Jogger and Embracing Quality in Public Health: A Practitioner's Quality Improvement Guidebook. These resources are helpful for QI team members to refer to as they learn and apply new QI tools.

www.mphiaccredandqi.org/qi-guidebook

 

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Rachel Melody, MPH, ASQ-CQPA, CQIA
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Submitted by SharitaHill on

Hi Gurleen, hope you're doing well.  Our agency purchased some and I believe they were handed out to the Accreditation Coordinators and other QI teams.  I have found them very hand, especially when trying to determine what type of data collection or reporting needs to be done.  However, if handed out to the wrong people I could see where they may sit in a drawer or box unused.  In my experience your 'stars' of QI will definitely use them and refer to them as often as needed along with sharing from them to their teams.  It's honestly a toss up with your staff & you know them best.  If you're concerned, it might be a good idea to purchase a few and see how they go over with your staff that you identify as needing a tool like this. I know you probably get a better discount buying a larger amount at once but sometimes you have to test the waters a little just to see how it's going to go over.

Sharita

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Sharita Hill
Business Analyst
Oklahoma State Department of Health
Protective Health Administration

Submitted by sfenton on

While the Public Health Memory Jogger is helpful, I have found another resource that I like better; "Tool Time for Business - Choosing and Implementing Quality Improvement Tools" published by Lnagford International.  The book is 8 1/2 X 11, 136 pages, soft cover, wire bound, and includes a quick use guide/chart.  It is not specifically public health oriented, but seems to me to be simpler and easier to use.  I didn't purchase this book; it was provided as part of a project we were involved on with University of Illinois at Chicago.

Sarah Fenton

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Submitted by abarber on

The Public Health Foundation has expanded on The Public Health Memory Jogger II with the Public Health Quality Improvement Encyclopedia. This 2012 desk reference provides public health-specific examples for 75 tools – triple the number in the Jogger.  Health departments across the country have used the Encyclopedia to improve organizational performance, become more effective and efficient, and prepare to apply for public health accreditation. Learn more about the Public Health Quality Improvement Encyclopedia at www.phf.org/QIencyclopedia.

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cmarthaler@ldchealth.org's picture
Submitted by cmarthaler@ldch... on

We started making the Public Health Memory Jogger II available to all staff about 3 years ago.  New staff receive a copy when they attend QI 101 training.  During that training I reference tools in the book and have staff actively use the book for the hands-on activities.  I try to model using the book by bringing it with me to QI meetings and having it present on my desk; our agency director does the same.  I do like the Public Health Quality Improvement Encyclopedia as well and we bought a few extra copies when staff asked for it.

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Submitted by Dan Eder on

We originally got them a few years back for our QI Committee.  With new members transitioning, turnover, and other issues most of them have disappeared.  With that being said we did get some value when we used them, though we have created electronic templates and trainings to help staff learn more about the tools (the book just being an extra tool).  What we have done now is created a "cheat sheet" with each of the tools that also indicate the page number of each tool from the memory jogger, and we have left a couple copies in our agencies library.  We think that will help ensure we always have a few sitting around and all staff have the opportunity to use them not just the QI Committee.  Hopefully that helps.

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Dan Eder

Submitted by gkroberts on

Wow, thank you all so much for your advice! I will order the memory joggers for the QI council and teams, and just a few of the encyclopedias as a reference. I also like the idea of incorporating these books into the QI training, and making as many resources available as possible. A multi-channel approach (books, online resources, training, etc) will certainly be the best way to help staff use QI tools. Thanks, again!

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Gurleen Roberts, MPH
Director of Quality Management
Cobb & Douglas Public Health
Marietta, GA
gurleen.roberts@dph.ga.gov