Local Health Department, County

DCHS Public Health
In Progress
Impact Statement:
Three counties in central Oregon, Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson, were faced with rates of only 60%–70% of 2-year-old children having received all recommended vaccinations. The counties used QI methods; elected to implement an evidence-based process, AFIX (Assessment, Feedback, Incentives,...
MCDPH
Completed
Impact Statement:
The Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education) team used rapid-cycle PDSA to make the school lunch “plate waste” process more efficient and more accurate and updated it to cause the least disruption to the students and staff.
CGCDPH
Completed
Impact Statement:
The number of flu vaccines provided by Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health (CGCDPH) has risen greatly, with many flu vaccination sites around the rural county. As the number of vaccines rose, the ability to enter the vaccines into the state immunization registry fell, and 57% of flu...
CGCDPH
Completed
Impact Statement:
The Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health (CGCDPH) used PDSA to improve its process for applying for grants and involving all staff in understanding the process.
TCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Tazewell County Health Department (TCHD) followed a Kaizen QI process to decrease the time for completing the deposit and receipt process for fee revenue. The number of days from receipt to post decreased from 30 to 5, an 83% reduction. Additional improved outcomes resulted from the Kaizen process.
DCHS
Completed
Impact Statement:
Deschutes County Health Services (DCHS) in Oregon improved its process to increase clinic show rates and caseload for clients of the WIC program. This improvement optimized staff time and ensures access to care and benefits for these needed services in the community.
MCDPH
Completed
Impact Statement:
Maricopa County Department of Health (MCDPH) used QI methods to achieve a 90% decrease in callers to the health department who selected the "zero-out" option (transfer of call to a live operator), thereby freeing staff time to focus on other projects and ensuring that more callers quickly...
SCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Charting errors increased in Scott County Health Department's (SCHD's) STD clinic when a new electronic database was introduced. Anticipating the transition to the new database, the STD team implemented a QI effort to identify and correct problems with the charting process before they...
TCPH
Completed
Impact Statement:
Tarrant County Public Health’s (TCPH’s) North Texas Regional Laboratory (NTRL) decreased the cost of a specific HIV test by 40% by testing and adopting an alternative control test method. NTRL has received level funding for a few years while laboratory expenses have continued to grow. Achieving...
BCPHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Butte County Public Health Department (BCPHD) in California used QI to expedite the annual medical review (AMR) process for eligibility into the California Children's Services (CCS) program. More children and their families now have improved access to these specialty health care services.
Completed
Impact Statement:
Kendall County Health Department implemented successive PDSA cycles to better protect their population from West Nile Virus. The QI activities eventually led to a nearly 200% increase in the number of mosquito tests performed. Moreover, the implementation of a GIS management system has led to...
KCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Kane County Health Department (KCHD) in Illinois increased staff knowledge of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), which improved timely response to emergencies and protection of county residents.
DCHS
Completed
Impact Statement:
Deschutes County Health Services (DCHS) streamlined the referral process for its Nurse Family Support Services(NFSS) and Oregon MothersCare (OMC) programs. Staff satisfaction with the process has improved and program clients are now more efficiently being served.
Washington County
Completed
Impact Statement:
Washington County Department of Public Health and Environment led a multi-sector quality improvement project and increased the recycling rate at a county park. Expansion of this model to all county parks will further protect the environment and contribute to Minnesota's statewide goal of a 75...
DCHS
Completed
Impact Statement:
Customer satisfaction is key to any health department, and ensuring new employees’ satisfaction is no exception to this tenet. Deschutes County Health Services (DCHS) achieved tremendous success in orienting and onboarding these important “internal” customers through a comprehensive process that is...
CCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Cecil County Health Department (CCHD) redesigned the onboarding process for new staff. As a result, most new staff reported that they understand their role at CCHD and found the onboarding process to be informative and useful. Onboarding education can improve staff members’ ability to meet...
CG Health
Completed
Impact Statement:
Cerro Gordo Health Department decreased fear levels of bed bug exposure among field staff. The implementation of a risk reduction plan minimized staff discomfort and facilitated a more effective intervention to bed bug exposure in the community.
CGCDPH
In Progress
Impact Statement:
Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health (CGCDPH) worked to improve immunization rates for both types of pneumococcal vaccine recommended for seniors. Through a multifaceted approach that emphasized increased awareness of the vaccine, CGCDPH raised the rate of immunizations with the newest...
CHA
In Progress
Impact Statement:
By using Kaizen, Cabarrus Health Alliance (CHA) in North Carolina reduced food establishment violations by 22% and further protected residents from foodborne illness.
TCPH
Completed
Impact Statement:
The Tarrant County Public Health (TCPH) Tuberculosis (TB) Division in Texas improved completion rates for latent TB infection (LTBI) treatment focusing on three targeted populations: homeless shelter residents, refugees, and people exposed to TB cases. Quality improvement of the process and a new...
HCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Harford County Health Department (HCHD) in Maryland increased the percentage of morbidity reports for chlamydia submitted by county health care providers, thus facilitating improved trend monitoring, ensuring proper treatment, and ultimately helping to reduce the spread of disease.
Tulare County Public Health Department
Completed
Impact Statement:
Working together, the Tulare County Public Health Department’s tuberculosis (TB) team and nurses increased the on-time completion rates from 80% to 100% for referrals of suspected TB cases. The QI project resulted in a newly defined and consistent work process that improved communications and team...
Clackamas County Public Health Division
Completed
Impact Statement:
This medium-size local health department improved and standardized the effectiveness of environmental health (EH) plan reviews for new restaurant establishments. The QI team used Kaizen and Lean Six Sigma methods and tools to successfully reduce the EH plan review approval time frame from 30 days...
Clackamas County Public Health Division
Completed
Impact Statement:
Clackamas County Public Health Division has improved its onboarding processes to ensure that occupational health requirements are met within 30 days after hiring new employees and annually thereafter to ensure that risk is low and that employees and clients are safe and healthy.
SCDPH
Completed
Impact Statement:
Saginaw County Department of Public Health (SCDPH) conducts strategic planning every 2 years. After noting that not all staff were engaged, the four previous strategic planning groups conducted a PDSA cycle on the strategic planning process. As a result, staff are now more committed to setting and...
Completed
Impact Statement:
Rapid response to new Salmonella cases is critical to decreasing the spread of disease and reducing the likelihood of an outbreak. The Santa Clara County Public Health Department in California used the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC)/Six Sigma approach to identify the root causes...
OCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Taking the bite out of labor intensive reporting and delays though community collaboration and use of QI tools and methods to increase the number of animal bite reports submitted to the health department in a timely fashion.
DCHS
Completed
Impact Statement:
Deschutes County Health Services (DCHS) in Central Oregon is now able to provide more efficient preventive strategies for the county through creating and implementing an online process for reporting foodborne illness, restaurant complaints, hotel and motel complaints, pool and spa complaints, and...
Marion County Health Department
Completed
Impact Statement:
When a rabies susceptible animal has bitten a human, it is imperative that health departments responsible for the investigation and quarantine of these animals respond a timely manner. A local health department in Oregon used a PDSA approach to reduce the time to process rabies bites reports by 29...
Florida Department of Health in Seminole County
Completed
Impact Statement:
Client complaints and staff dissatisfaction with prenatal clinic wait times led the Seminole County DOH to use QI to decrease their client visit times. Focusing on modifying the prenatal scheduling matrix, eliminating duplicate charts, and decreasing the physical distance traveled between check-...
WCHD
In Progress
Impact Statement:
The Whatcom County Health department found that language and cultural barriers were contributing to higher numbers of critical Food Code violations for the almost 18% of non-English and ESL food service operators in Level 3 establishments in the County. The department considered the food service...
TCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Reducing adolescent tobacco use is a priority for Tooele County Health Department (TCHD) in Utah. Staff recognized the need to improve tobacco compliance check pass rates and identified that clerks who possess a valid permit were less likely to sell tobacco products to minors. TCHD used quality...
Cabarrus Health Alliance
Completed
Impact Statement:
Cabarrus Health Alliance and partners used quality improvement to streamline their processes for referrals for pregnancy care management to improve overall handoffs and cycle times, resulting in more timely and effective referrals for care management to ensure healthier mothers and babies.
MCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
A knowledgeable and involved team, subject matter expertise, and the Kaizen improvement method helped the Madison County Health Department reduce their client no show rates in the Family Planning Clinic. Root cause analysis led the team to create standardized process procedures, client scheduling...
NCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Client satisfaction data are a critical component of an agency’s QI plan but can be difficult to obtain. Through a 4-day Kaizen event, Northampton County Health Department (NCHD) in North Carolina streamlined and simplified its client satisfaction survey process, resulting in a 100% increase in the...
Dare County Health and Human Services
Completed
Impact Statement:
A local health department in North Carolina used PDSA cycles and lean/kaizen approaches to improve their clinic client and community satisfaction survey tools and data collection process. This provided a system-wide framework to enable the organization to better understand their customers’ needs,...
HCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
This medium-sized health department tackled the unacceptable wait time in its Primary Care Clinics. The wait time averaged 1.5 hours for new patients and 30–45 minutes for returning patients. The QI team members observed how people are processed through the stations and identified improvement...
Washington County Department of Public Health and Environment
Completed
Impact Statement:
Using quality improvement to raise community awareness of the importance of annual private well water testing increased the number of tests performed, assuring a safe water supply for county residents all done without increasing processing costs!
FCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Early intervention has been shown to positively impact outcomes across developmental domains. The Fond du Lac County Health Department increased the number of children being screened for developmental delays from 5 to 9 per month, allowing more children to be appropriately connected with services...
JCDHE
Completed
Impact Statement:
Johnson County Department of Health and Environment used a kaizen event to improve the supply ordering process cycle time and increased the order placement and delivery accuracy for all programs in the department. The results included decrease in cycle time – total ordering process time per order...
CCPHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Clackamas County, Oregon conducted a comprehensive Kaizen project to design and implement a customer feedback system for the entire public health division. The process and tools used for the project are well described and easy to adapt by other health departments. While Clackamas has not yet...
El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency
Completed
Impact Statement:
El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency used a Kaizen event to improve customer satisfaction and reduce labor time in the County “request for information” process. The results of the project mean better and faster information to the incoming caller, so they can make more informed...
DeKalb County Board of Health
Completed
Impact Statement:
The DeKalb County Board of Health used a kaizen event to decrease the labor time and increase the accuracy of filing death certificate registrations. Improving the process resulted in labor savings, better cash flow and improved performance for customers in providing accurate and timely filing. The...
DOH-Seminole
Completed
Impact Statement:
DOH-Seminole County realized savings of $7764 for goods and services from price negotiations during the first quarter following a Kaizen event – almost double the goal set by the QI team. Other improvements in the requisition process included a 38% decrease in process time, in addition to...
WCPH
Completed
Impact Statement:
Washington County (OR) conducted a Kaizen Event to improve the volume of childcare facilities that used the LHD for their state required inspections. The agency implemented several new policies and protocols to standardize the entire inspection process. As a result, they anticipate a reduction in...
TCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Kaizen events lend themselves to rapid improvements in routine health department processes. Tazewell County Health Department utilized Kaizen tools to full advantage--reducing administrative time related to food establishment inspections dramatically, exceeding the project aim. In the first month...
WCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
A local health department in Washington was not able to serve all of the WIC-eligible clients in its jurisdiction. Process mapping led to three aims for increasing efficiency to make time for new clients: (1) Decreasing the average percentage of no-show appointments; (2) Increasing the WIC...
OCHD
Completed
Impact Statement:
Enforcement of food safety regulations plays a significant role in preventing food borne illness outbreaks. A local health department used the Lean method to increase efficiencies, standardize the process and reduce staff time and other costs for the administrative hearing process that enforces...
Jefferson County Public Health Service
Completed
Impact Statement:
Responding to case reports of Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne infection in North America represented a very large time burden for a local health department in northwest New York state. The department used QI tools to decrease the number of steps and amount of time to respond to case...
MCDPH
Completed
Impact Statement:
A large county health department used effective data gathering, analysis, and interpretation with PDSA to enable increased WIC caseloads that in turn decreased the number of negative health outcomes among low-income mothers and their families who had not been receiving WIC benefits.

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