Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Big Projects Keep On Coming
It is summer and in addition to the unending heat, we also continue to have unending work (which is a great thing for job security). Some of the big projects that are keeping me busy include continued work on our make medicine better branding strategy. We are very fortunate to have deep talent in the department and a number of team members have stepped up and are developing plans that will prepare us for the next phases of the strategy. It is helpful to have fresh eyes looking at concepts and images and words. However, for truth in advertising, must admit that I do continue to love the strategy. As I am writing this, I am preparing to attend an evening meeting of the North Side Access to Health Coalition. This group formed almost three years ago (time does fly), had about a year long hiatus and is back working to implement many of the ideas that were generated in the study of barriers and challenges for some City residents in accessing health services. Another significant project entails new requirements from the federal government with respect to community benefit. Over the past three years, we established a really good system for tracking and reporting the great work done by our hospitals and departments in the communities where we have a presence. The government has said that is good, but now they are requiring all non-profit hospitals to undertake a community health needs assessment and tie the programs we deliver to the identified needs in the community. This is a major undertaking, but again, team members have stepped up to the plate and are working to make us smart about how to do this work ahead of the deadlines. Washington, DC issues abound and require development of easy to understand policy papers and recommendations for a number of key audiences -- often without a lot of advance notice. It is however important (and satisfying) work and keeps me connected to my old urban planning and government roots. Working with several of our hospitals on major construction projects and being the sign czarina (thanks to all who help with this task) have kept me hopping this summer. I also spend a good deal of time thinking about how I can be a better leader for the team and how we as a team can be of better value to BJC. I write out ideas and some of them actually end up getting implemented. It's a useful way to not lose good ideas (and to discard bad ones that I thought were good when they first popped into my head). What do you do with the ideas you have?
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3 comments:
This is great! One project I'm really excited to see BJC involved in is the unmet needs assessment. Particularly, this interests me because it is precisely the sort of work I was involved in when I served in AmeriCorps St. Louis after Hurricane Katrina. My team coordinated the efforts of an unmet needs assessment for the community of Pass Christian, MS. We teamed up with CRWRC (a Christian Reformed VolAg) who was essentially the specialist group who did this for all sorts of disasters (those involved with MO SEMA for BJC probably have an idea of how different groups bring different skills to the table in disasters.)
Anyway, here are a few thoughts I will share from my experience in 2006. When information is being gathered for the unmet needs, if the needs are being asked about at an individual level, then data should also be recorded at an individual level. Knowing that John Ulster on PeachTree Lane specifically doesn't know where to go to find psychology services is important. It may be 2 years before a group or team is put together to address the unmet needs or re-canvas areas and provide specific information, so having a database with names and needs to-be-matched is of great value down the road. It also helps when doing a follow-up needs assessment to verify if, in fact, previous unmet needs have been met.
Second, I think that is also important to synchronize the efforts of an unmet needs assessment team with a team of people working on meeting those unmet needs. Having as many agencies at-the-table and ready to act that we can at the start of efforts will bring more cohesion to the overall effort. Too often people assume an unmet needs survey is a statistical research project - when in fact it is really about being better at serving the community – learning what the weaknesses and strengths are that might otherwise have been overlooked. I think because we are in health care, many people will default to thinking about this as a research project - which it is, but with a genuine purpose to help people who are stating that they have unmet needs and need help. That's the ultimate goal.
I think unmet needs assessments are really critical to communities that seem to be having problems connecting people and services. We know in community health that you can have a resource available, even free, but if there is a disconnect in people knowing it exists then the outcomes can be minimal. I think unmet needs assessments really show a community where it needs to improve either its resources or communication about those resources. And, getting that can result in some great successes in the community.
I don't know what team you have working on this or where this is in the process, but if there is anything I can bring to the table, I would enjoy being of help. My experience was in managing the unmet needs database, coordinating the unmet needs with resources and agencies to provide those resources, knocking on doors, and working with volunteers that were ready and willing to provide help. Essentially, I saw the full cycle of seeing unmet needs develop through matching and being met by agencies, in a community that was devastated by natural disaster. If that sounds useful, I can be available to help with this project. Just let me know!
Thanks so much, Jason and there is a small team working to get us organized. And, I can assure you that in addition to determining the needs, we will also be determining where BJC should participate in helping to meet the needs. Will keep you posted and connect you into the process in due time. J
"What do you do with the ideas you have?"
These days I throw everything into Evernote. It seamlessly synchs my work and home computers, iPad and iPhone so that everything is instantly on call. With Evernote, I never lose an idea; it's always safely tucked away for later.
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