2008 Educational Audio Conferences

The Association for Community Health Improvement offers educational audio and web conferences. These sessions address a range of topics, including: population health improvement and chronic disease prevention, access to care, community benefit, collaborative strategies, outcomes measurement, and evaluation.

Session Dates:
January 15; February 21; March 18; April 15; May 15; June 19; July 17; August 21; September 18; October 16; November 19

(See descriptions of ACHI's 2007 audio conferences.)

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November 19, 2008
Designing a Community Benefit Programs Dashboard

Cynthia LeRouge, PhD Associate Professor Decision Sciences/Information Technology Management at John Cook School of Business Saint Louis University

Monica Chiarini Tremblay, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Decision Sciences and Information Systems Florida International University

Lynn Baskett Vice President John Muir Community Health Alliance Concord CA

This session is co-sponsored by VHA, Inc. and the Association for Community Health Improvement.

Community benefit dashboards are an emerging management tool to measure and track an organization’s community benefit performance over time.  Our speakers will provide an overview of the features of community benefit dashboards, the development process, and determining what form of dashboard may be right for your organization.

The presenters will share examples of management information dashboards that either partially or exclusively focus on providing community benefit.  Issues in using dashboards and evidence of their value in contributing to understanding of community benefit will also be a part of the discussion.

Learning Objectives:

•  Demonstrate the usefulness of dashboards as a management tool
•  Understand the features of dashboards
•  Learn how to develop a dashboard
•  Decide how to choose a dashboard that is right for your organization

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October 16, 2008 --  Downloadable handouts are available here!
ENERGIZE! - An Innovative Approach to Youth Diabetes Screening and Prevention

Mark Piehl, MD, MPH, FAAP Medical Director WakeMed Children's Diabetes and Endocrinology Program Raleigh, NC

Julie Paul, MS, RD, LDN, CDE Program Coordinator WakeMed Children's Diabetes and Endocrinology Program Raleigh, NC

The WakeMed Health and Hospitals Pediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology Program (PDP) was established to educate children, families, and the community in the management of this complex disease. The original target population was children with type 1 diabetes, however, the recent epidemic of childhood obesity has brought a dramatic rise in type 2 diabetes, creating a need for a community-wide response to this emerging public health problem.

WakeMed's PDP provides community-wide screening for diabetes through local public health clinics and physicians' offices in conjunction with an extensive healthy lifestyle intervention for youth ages 6-18 identified with diabetes or who are at high risk for developing diabetes. ENERGIZE! is a 12-week, 3 days per week, community-based lifestyle change program, involving formal collaborations with local organizations such as the YMCA and City Parks and Recreation, designed to educate families about healthy eating, physical activity, and behavior change.

Program goals are to improve the health of children with diabetes and their families, and to identify and treat children with pre-diabetes to prevent the otherwise inevitable progression of type 2 diabetes and its complications. To date, the PDP has secured over $2.2 million in outside funds to document and measure the long term impact of its interventions in reducing the medical effects or increase in diabetes among children, as well as replicating the program in other counties in North Carolina.

ENERGIZE! is a 2008 AHA NOVA Award winner , as well as a participant in HRET's Youth Obesity Learning Collaborative .

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• Define the hospital's role in addressing the epidemic of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes from a medical model.
• Identify the infrastructure required to achieve effective diabetes screening, physician education, and adherence to recommended screening for youth.
• Identify the partnerships and components necessary for an effective family-based lifestyle intervention and post-intervention.

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September 18, 2008
Integrating Community Benefit into Hospital Strategic Planning

Keith Hearle President Verité Healthcare Consulting, LLC Alexandria, VA Read Keith's bio

Most tax-exempt healthcare organizations develop separate community benefit plans and strategic plans. There are numerous reasons for this, including the need to respond to regulatory requirements.

Organizations now are recognizing the benefits of fully integrating community benefit into the strategic planning process. Strategic plans that incorporate needs assessments and community perspectives can be more effective and better align strategic initiatives with mission.

This audio conference is an updated version of the standing room-only session that Mr. Hearle presented at the 2008 ACHI Annual Conference. The presentation includes:

• An outline of the components of internal and external assessments in a strategic plan.
• An update on the new IRS not-for-profit reporting requirements for hospitals.
• Recommendations on elements to consider in a hospital’s financial assistance policies.
• Considerations for charity care accounting.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• Articulate the benefits of integrated community benefit and strategic planning.
• Identify and address historical barriers to integrated planning.
• Incorporate specific steps into the strategic planning process.
• Envision a “community-based strategic plan.”

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August 21, 2008
Conducting High Quality Community Health Assessments: Two Communities with Contrasting Approaches

Judy Crabtree Executive Director Kanawha Coalition for Community Health Improvement Charleston, WV Read Judy's bio

C. Darryl Hughes Corporate Director of Community & Senior Services Meridian Health Neptune, NJ Read Darryl's bio

While most community health assessments begin with stating their purpose, move to collecting and analyzing data, and end with priority-setting and planning for action, there is no single “recipe” for conducting them. Community and organizational needs, and available resources, are factors in deciding how to approach the task.

Join this session to learn how organizations in two different communities used disparate approaches to produce the robust data that is guiding their community health improvement efforts.

The Kanawha Coalition for Community Health Improvement in West Virginia engages local technical assistance and a team of enthusiastic volunteers at very little cost to produce reliable data. Meridian Health of New Jersey, on the other hand, works with a contracted research firm for much of their data collection. The speakers will outline the rationale for their approaches, share advice on lessons learned, and offer their observations on the essential elements of community health assessments.

In addition, the audio conference will feature information on recent updates to the ACHI online Community Health Assessment Toolkit , including the addition of case examples from across the country.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify the merits of different approaches to community health assessments.
• Describe essential elements of effective health assessments.
• Identify resources available in the ACHI Community Health Assessment Toolkit.

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July 17, 2008
Cutting through the Clutter: Building Awareness of and Identity for Community Benefit

Clare Reardon, APR Director, Strategic Initiatives and Program Development Office of the President Froedtert Hospital Milwaukee, Wisconsin Read Clare's bio

Amid the 24-7 communication overload we experience in the workplace, it is increasingly difficult to retain what we need to know, let alone recall it when we need it!

In health care, our primary goal of patient-centered care is enmeshed in volumes of quality reporting and regulation. Important issues related to patient safety, regulatory compliance, performance improvement and cost containment take a fair amount of our focus on the job. In competing for “air time” in this noisy environment, community benefit information is considered “nice to know,” rather than “need to know.” How can we get the attention of our co-workers, when the volume around all our other strategic priorities is so loud?

This session will describe how Froedtert Hospital, the academic medical center in eastern Wisconsin, has developed a strategic communications plan for building brand awareness and advocacy among hospital staff, organizational leaders and key partners for the role and value of community benefit.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify internal audiences that need to be 'invested' in Community Benefit
• Develop the core competencies that Community Benefit leaders should have for success within their environment
• Select a few communication strategies that will provide some “quick wins” that will advance the visibility of Community Benefit within the organization

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June 19, 2008
Building Sustainability into Grant-Funded Programs: Making the Case Using Data, Partnerships and Health Improvement Strategies

Ryan Ehrensberger, PhD Administrative Director, Community Benefit Services Bon Secours Richmond Health System Richmond, VA Read Ryan's bio

Grant funding is often used to start, or expand, community health programs and services. What happens to those programs and services when grant funding ends? Learn how one community collaborative used data, partnerships and health improvement strategies to secure sustainable funding after grant support expired.

With significant grant support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Controlling Asthma in the Richmond Metropolitan Area (CARMA) has provided intensive pediatric asthma education and outreach services to those in need in the Richmond community since 2001. Building sustainability strategies into the grant operations from the beginning have supported the successful continuation of CARMA services after the grant support expires.

This session will describe how Bon Secours Richmond Health System worked with community partners and key decision-makers to sustain needed pediatric asthma management services in the community. Learn how to apply similar tactics in your own communities.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify characteristics of sustainable collaborative health interventions.
• Observe how this model can be replicated in other communities.
• Describe how partnerships can be engaged in other community health improvement issues in addition to asthma.

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May 15, 2008
Community Health Improvement and the Bottom Line: Effective Product/Market Positioning Strategy

Debra Thompson President Strategy Solutions, Inc.

Joseph R. McClellan, M.D. Senior Vice-President  Hamot Health Foundation Erie, PA

Many hospitals and health systems conduct health status assessments and participate in community health improvement activities. Some participate in these activities because it is the “right thing to do. Others conduct health assessments to help quantify their community benefit and/or as a public relations activity or as part of their community education efforts. Few organizations fully integrate health status and/or community health assessment activities into strategic planning processes and intentionally use the information as platforms for product/market development or positioning strategies to enhance their bottom lines.

This session provides a model for using health status assessment and community health improvement activities as integral components of health system product and market planning.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants will:

• Identify and discuss specific methods of integrating community health assessment and improvement activities into health system planning efforts.
• Have some “tips & tricks” to make community health assessment processes more effective and link it to clinical service delivery.
• Receive “take home” tools for use in daily work.

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April 15, 2008
Local Health Care Access Initiatives: Key Factors for Success

Karen J. Minyard, Ph.D. Executive Director Georgia Health Policy Center Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Georgia State University

The United States health care system is plagued with serious financial problems. It is clear that bold strategies requiring public and private resources from national, state, and local levels are essential.

Community health initiatives – locally crafted responses to health care access problems– have been steadfast in their efforts to connect uninsured and medically indigent people to health care services and health insurance. Typically, they unite community leaders, providers, and other key stakeholders, building on good-faith relationships to reduce uncompensated care and support the local safety net. Recognizing that merely referring people with complex medical and social needs to care is often insufficient, these initiatives assist in outreach, coordinate and integrate care, and help clients use limited resources efficiently. 

In a study for the Commonwealth Fund, Dr. Minyard analyzed success factors of a variety of initiatives around the country.  The study offers new insights about community initiatives and the successes and challenges they face.  Findings fall into the following three areas:  1) the critical importance of state context; 2) the need for community health initiatives and, paradoxically the difficulty of sustaining them; and 3) the challenges of replication.  The key findings will be illustrated in this audio conference through three case studies.

Learning Objectives:

1. The participants will have new insights into the successes and challenges for community health access initiatives especially related to state context, sustainability, and replication.
2. The participants will have models of three communities that have local initiatives focused on health and access.
3. The participants will practice learnings by sharing how the study findings and models are relevant to their communities.

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March 18, 2008
Show, Don’t Tell: The Power of Storytelling in Communicating Community Initiatives

Nancy Buono Cartwright, MA Managing Director, Communications Kaiser Permanente Northern California Oakland, CA Read Nancy's bio

Every successful community initiative requires strategic communication to internal and external audiences. Whether you are conducting a health assessment for a health department, coordinating an event for a hospital or releasing research findings from a foundation, it is critical that you include an effective communications plan.

Audio conference participants will learn innovative, powerful tools to extend the reach of their communications efforts and move audiences to understand and act. Participants will be able to:

1. Develop a proactive communications plan targeted to get desired results.
2. Identify and communicate benefits (not features!) of a community initiative.
3. Learn to create effective messages that resonate with audiences.
4. Identify tools to measure the effectiveness of communications plans.

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February 21, 2008
Partnership for Community Health: A Public-Private Model for Bridging the Gap of the Uninsured

Shirley Manly Lampkin, RN, PhD Director of Community Health Programs California Pacific Medical Center San Francisco, CA Read Shirley's bio

Allen Meyer, JD Vice President of Programs San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium San Francisco, CA Read Allen's bio

Learn how a non-profit medical center partnered with a multi-site public clinic consortium to help address the primary, specialty and preventive health needs of the uninsured population in San Francisco.

Participants will be able to:

1. Learn the key components and the process for developing a collaborative partnership between the non-profit and public sectors.
2. Learn effective management and governance strategies in serving the uninsured through collaborative partnerships.
3. Learn the appropriate evaluation tools to assess collaborative approaches.
4. Develop next steps to sustain the program.

The speakers will discuss specifics of their initiative, as well as why certain aspects were successful and how they overcame barriers. This project garnered the medical center the 2007 VHA Leadership Award for Community Benefits Excellence.

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January 15, 2008
Medical-Legal Partnership for Children: Lawyers and MDs United to Improve Kids' Health

Ellen M. Lawton, Esq. Executive Director Medical-Legal Partnership for Children -- Raising the Bar for Child Health Boston Medical Center Boston, MA Megan Sandel, MD Boston Medical Center Boston, MA

Attorney Ellen M. Lawton and Megan Sandel, M.D., from Boston explain how they have translated the concept of social determinants of health into improving local kids’ day-to-day lives.

Lawton and Sandel work with local pediatricians through the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children, a legal advocacy initiative created some 15 years ago by a physician who had grown weary of not seeing his young patients make clinical progress because of problems at home unrelated to their health.  MLPC has improved the lives of some 1,000 Boston families and is charting a course nationally toward a new standard of pediatric care.

A key component of the program is training the clinical staff at Boston Medical Center and five community health centers to spot challenges confronting families that might be resolved by the legal team.  Lawton and her team of 10 attorneys and paralegals provide advice and representation through a variety of legal channels, including administrative hearings and court proceedings.  Typical issues include public benefits such as food stamps or health insurance, housing-related concerns, immigration matters, education services, family law and domestic violence, and job training and employment.

Where you have a low-income, single mom under stress, the prevailing wisdom is to connect her with mental health support,“ said Lawton, the MLPC executive director. “That’s not bad by any means, but maybe a lawyer can help alleviate her stress by resolving the problems that make it hard to follow the guidance she’s received about her child’s care.

Session participants will:

1. Learn how MLPC works “up stream” with pediatricians and families, identifying issues before they become legal problems.
2. Gain a better understanding of how social and environmental factors affect a child’s health.
3. Learn how MLPC forged positive working relationships among the Boston legal community and pediatricians

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