Strengthening Collaboration Among Local Public Health Partners

Summary

Impact Statement:

Recognizing the power and strength of inclusive community-based collaboration, the health department, under the leadership of the St. Clair County Health Care Commission, used quality planning to enlist more than 60 local organizations to develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce the unacceptably high prevalence of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke in St. Clair County.

Summary:

In 2010–11, the 20 member organizations of the St. Clair County Health Care Commission developed 5-year community health plans with measurable outcome and impact objectives to reduce the significantly high prevalence of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke in St. Clair County. Reducing these outcomes will not only require the “Art of the Long View” but an unprecedented commitment to implement collaborative, evidence-based intervention strategies, establishing policies and building environments to address the underlying behaviors of poor diet and inactivity that increase the risk of premature illness and death caused by these preventable conditions. The following aims and measureable objectives were identified in this Mobilizing Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) process.

AIM 1: Increase the capacity of schools to provide a learning environment that supports healthy behavior and discourages health risk behavior for children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE 1: By 2016, 25 schools will have fully functional Wellness Councils that can facilitate a Coordinated School Health approach for students, families, and faculty.

AIM 2: Increase the capacity of neighborhoods and communities in St. Clair County to provide a safe environment for school-age children to travel actively to and from school.

OBJECTIVE 2: By 2016, a total of 15 schools in St. Clair County will have a sustainable Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program with an operational travel plan that demonstrates a 10% increase in participation each year.

AIM 3: Increase the capacity of St. Clair County municipal leaders and city planners to create an active transportation network for its 29 incorporated towns and 22 townships.

OBJECTIVE 3: By 2016, St. Clair County will develop a Bicycle, Pedestrian, Trails and Greenway Master Plan, and 8 to 10 cities will actively engage in implementing a progressive Complete Streets (CS) Campaign for their communities.

Organization that conducted the QI initiative:

St. Clair County Health Department

Citation:

Peters, M. Public Health Quality Improvement Exchange. Strengthening Collaboration Among Local Public Health Partners. Fri, 03/29/2013 - 19:35. Available at http://phqix.org/content/strengthening-collaboration-among-local-public-health-partners. Accessed April 18, 2024.

Background and Aim

Aim statement:

The St. Clair County Health Department aims to ensure that all of the strategic issues in the 5-year Community Health Plan have at least one measurable objective and an evidence-based strategy by the end of 2012. The St. Clair County Health Department does this in order to take measurable action to improve health.

Need For The QI Initiative:

Since 1994, the St. Clair County Health Department has convened the member organizations of the Health Care Commission in a bimonthly meeting to report on activities and progress from SHI teams and other agency member activities. • Existing SHI teams try to meet during off months or as member schedules permit. • St. Clair County Health Department administers the Health Care Commission survey annually and facilitates an annual partnership workshop on appropriate health themes chosen by consensus. • In 2008, it was determined that the current process did not provide for clear accountability and transparency for completing project goals and objectives for Phase Six of the MAPP/Illinois Process for Local Assessment of Needs (IPLAN) process.

Area for Improvement:

The 2006–10 IPLAN/MAPP process identifies four SHIs: 1. Create a broader sense of “community connectedness.” 2. Strengthen the public health workforce. 3. Address the needs of those who require behavioral health services. 4. Improve health outcomes for cardiovascular disease, maternal and child health, and respiratory diseases. 5. Improve health services to the aging community. 6. Improve access to care. 7. Improve health outcomes for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In 2007, SHI teams began to form and work on established goals and objectives for Phase Six (Action Phase) of the IPLAN/MAPP process. Over the ensuing years, SHI teams began to experience fragmentation and difficulty in establishing a standardized process for goal/objective setting, information gathering, cross-agency program accountability, and evaluation. The St. Clair County Health Department engaged in a 2-year QI training pilot with the Illinois Public Health Institute. During this time, staff were introduced to cross-organization strategy alignment tools such as Community Balanced Scorecards, Compact Agreements, and Strategy Mapping. In 2010, the SHI teams and other members of the county’s Health Care Commission participated in another Community Health Assessment and Planning process using the MAPP model. This process helped to establish SHIs for the next 5 years; they include the following: 1. Risk factor prevention for chronic diseases 2. Address health outcomes related to violence and safety 3. Suicide and substance abuse treatment and prevention 4. Improve outcomes for maternal and child health

Root Cause:

1. Funding and staff shortages. 2. Organizational drift and fragmentation. 3. Lack of clear objectives and availability of local information.

Planning and Execution Details

QI Implementation:

The quality improvement (QI) methods and tools were first used with the Strategic Health Issues (SHIs) to address “community connectedness” to strengthen existing and build new collaborative relationships among multiple organizations. The sequence of events included the following: 1. In 2008, the St. Clair County Health Department initiated a county-wide health and wellness campaign (Get Up & Go!) for organizations and communities to get involved in activities that improved health. 2. The St. Clair County Health Department used the Get Up & Go! Campaign to create public awareness of SHIs. 3. The St. Clair County Health Department raised awareness and interest in over 100 organizations willing to promote proactive collaborative ideas and solutions, and this led to the establishment of a Community Roundtable Forum. 4. In 2009, St. Clair County was recognized by the YMCA of the USA as a Pioneering Healthier Community (PHC) and provided seed funds to send a team of community leaders to the 2009 PHC Conference in Washington, DC. The conference provided training and funding to develop activities that promoted policy and environmental change toward improving active living and healthy eating. 5. St. Clair County began to utilize social media and wiki-spaces technology to create a virtual community for community partners to report and monitor activities and outcomes relevant to objectives established for SHIs. 6. St. Clair County formed “Theme Teams” to learn about Community Balanced Scorecards, develop strategy maps for fitness and nutrition, and draft community compact agreements between partners. 7. St. Clair County began the build-out of Health Care Commission wiki-spaces (known as Health-Trak) and created a website for the Get Up & Go! Campaign.

Focus activities

Administration:

Organizational effectiveness

Policies / internal procedures and processes

QI Methods:

PDCA/PDSA Cycle (Plan, Do, Check/Study, Act)

QI Tools:

Cause and Effect Diagrams

Force-Field Analysis

Multi- Voting Technique

SMART Chart

Surveys

QI Tool Documentation:

CHI Participant Survey.pdf

Initiative Dates:

9/1/10 to 12/1/12

Initiative Duration:

Greater than 24 months

Methods of evaluation:

The members of the Health Care Commission have just begun using strategic management tools utilizing a Community Balanced Scorecard approach integrated with wiki-spaces capabilities. The use of this online strategic management system will support collaboration among community partners and serves as a centralized place for tracking summarized information as well as important performance information. This creates heightened accountability for the outcome of activities, and it also allows details from a multitude of other partners to be summarized in a single system. Reports from the partner organization's scorecard that show supporting detail can be printed to PDF formats and uploaded as supporting documents for the summarized numbers in the strategic management system, equipping a geographically dispersed management team with a convenient one-stop-shop to monitor and support the wide range of activities and programs that will contribute to the success of intervention activities and measurable outcomes identified by all partners. The multiple tiers of interactive strategy maps (supported by information in the underlying wiki and scorecard system) provide a convenient way for partners and community leaders to understand the relationships between the efforts of many organizations, monitor the progress, and prioritize allocation of resources to achieve the desired outcomes. By equipping our partners with these strategic management tools (along with consulting, facilitation, and training), we can set them up for success as they work with other partners to implement their activities.

Supplemental Materials:

Press release

Promotional materials

Website URL

Supplemental Files:

Attachment	Size
CELEBRATE revise4.pdf	2.51 MB
CHI Lit Review 2010.pdf	111.77 KB
CHI Lit Review Exec Summary.pdf	49.29 KB
Children's Health Initiative Priorities Report.xls	69 KB
Combined Summary of 2009 Summit.doc	30.5 KB

Results

Measurable QI Outcomes:

To date, the St. Clair County Health Department has enlisted over 60 organizations in this effort and has provided training to 10 strategic planning teams working on behalf of each organization’s respective health issues identified in the 2011–16 Community Health Plan. In September 2012, the St. Clair County Health Department was awarded a 4-year Community Transformation grant to address chronic disease prevention. St. Clair County Health Department is currently preparing to host its Fourth Annual Health Policy Summit (November 29, 2012). The theme for this year’s Health Policy Summit will be the Power of Collective Impact. During this time, St. Clair County Health Department intends to communicate its objectives for the developing Coordinated School Health Programs and CS policies over the next 4 years.

Other QI Outcomes:

The St. Clair County Health Department and other members of the Health Care Commission have worked to raise public awareness of chronic and emerging health concerns and health disparities. Since 2001, a fall partnership conference has been hosted by the Health Care Commission. These conferences attract an average of 125 participants representing 50 to 70 different health and human service organizations. Each year, a theme is selected to highlight a strategic health issue identified by the Community Health Assessment process. These conferences continue to be an integral part of our ongoing efforts to develop collaborative partnerships and improve the quality of services that the St. Clair County Health Department provides.

Future Plans:

Standardize the improvement or develop new theory: • Build Health Care Commission wiki-spaces and provide access and training to member organizations. • Implement more low-cost/no-cost options identified by “Theme Teams.” • Integrate new and existing programs into St. Clair County’s shared vision for healthy and connected communities. • Ensure new programs have measurable objectives with measurable strategies that are aligned with the Community Health Plan.

Strengthening Collaboration Among Local Public Health Partners

Summary

Background and Aim

Planning and Execution Details

Results

Training and Preparation

Information about the Community

Information about the Health Department

QI Staff Information

Accreditation Details

Collaborations

Contact Information of the Submitter

Comments

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Strengthening Collaboration Among Local Public Health Partners

Summary

Background and Aim

Planning and Execution Details

Results

Training and Preparation

Information about the Community

Information about the Health Department

QI Staff Information

Accreditation Details

Collaborations

Contact Information of the Submitter

Comments

QI Spotlight