QI from the Front Lines
Mecklenburg County Health Department Establishes Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) Team to Help Spread Quality Improvement
January 21, 2010
The Mecklenburg County Health Department is taking a different approach to applying the quality improvement tools and methods they learned. Mecklenburg County participated in pilot testing the Area Health Education Center's (AHEC) Quality Improvement (QI) 101 course in the Spring of 2009.
 Mecklenburg County CPI Team (Jacqueline Glenn, Doris North, Connie Sims, Mike Kennedy, Evelyn Stitt, and Margaret Lewis) |
The team aimed to create a Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) team that could take the skills and knowledge they gained from the course and act as mentors and coaches to others within their agency. To date, the CPI team has mentored three teams in their agency. For example, the team is working with HIV Case Management staff to improve their documentation rate by 5%. The HIV case management staff were introduced to the Model for Improvement and used QI tools to identify and test change ideas. The CPI will track and measure the improvements of the HIV Case Management team over the coming months.
The CPI team is also in the process of establishing a resource center where people throughout their agency can access information about QI. Several QI books and handouts will be available to explain the fundamentals and techniques that can be applied to various processes. The CPI team wants to serve as a resource when people have questions or need help understanding and applying QI.
When describing their experience in the QI 101 course, the team members used the words analytical, challenging and educational. They said it was very analytical because it really made them examine current processes they had in place to make them more efficient. In addition, the course also allow them to study how other local health department teams approached their QI project. The experience was both challenging and educational because it forced them to incorporate the tools and methods they learned into their agency, but also provide them with information that allowed them to feel confident.
The team felt that one of their biggest accomplishments during their QI project was developing a cross-departmental CPI team. Each member of the team is from a different department and brings their own set of expertise to the group. This has enabled the team to utilize their skill set to the fullest and spread their learning throughout the agency.
The team would advise others who will be participating in the upcoming waves of the QI 101 to consider the advantages of a diverse team as well. Having a varied group of people has helped tremendously in brainstorming new ideas and different ways of approaching things. The CPI team would also recommend that future QI teams focus on involving a member from their agency's management team, as this is crucial to establishing staff buy-in and helps initiate and sustain changes in an agency.
The team is excited about the progress they have made and plan to continue to spread their knowledge and help create a culture of continuous improvement throughout their agency. "One thing we have really enjoyed seeing is the sparks and little fires starting throughout the agency of people really getting interested and involved in QI," said Evelyn Stitt, QI Coordinator for the Mecklenburg County Health Department.
If your local health department is interested in participating in the next wave of the QI 101 course, contact Andrea Cordova for more information.