Acknowledging their longstanding experience in delivering patient-centered care, 33 Massachusetts community health center sites have been chosen by state and federal health policy leaders to help develop new practice guidelines for primary care providers in Massachusetts and across the country. As participants in two Patient Centered Medical Home initiatives (Medical Home), these health centers are helping to lay the foundation for deep reform of the health care system - namely how care is organized, delivered, and paid for by government, business and consumers.   

The Medical Home model offers benefits to both patients and caregivers. Patients gain more one-on-one time with their physicians and care teams and are challenged to become better engaged in their long-term health goals. At the same time, caregivers work more collaboratively in addressing patients' needs and in coordinating and monitoring their care. As a part of its ongoing efforts to support this quality improvement work at health centers, the League is collaborating with Partners HealthCare on a series of initiatives aimed at building the community health center workforce and strengthening the capacity of health centers to develop, implement, and monitor quality improvement goals under Medical Home demonstration projects.

Central to these strategic efforts is the application of "change management" models which are focused on the processes, tools, and techniques necessary for managing organizations through changes that result in pre-determined business outcomes - in this case, quality improvement and increased patient and provider satisfaction. Working with GE Healthcare, the participating health centers are using a range of approaches originally developed within the manufacturing sector and adapted by GE for the health care industry. Applying the underpinnings of well-known change management archetypes that include Lean, Six Sigma, and Change Acceleration Process (CAP), the GE program offers a comprehensive framework for facilitating primary care practice changes that lead to improved health quality, access and efficiencies.  The program utilizes a set of integrated tools for:

• Implementing "sustain strategies" for change management at health centers;
• Strengthening each organization's culture of quality;
• Supporting health centers' current practice transformation work in the patient centered medical home model; and
• Increasing capacity at the League and health centers for ongoing coaching, quality improvement skill-building, and change management programs.

Session topics included in the GE training cover how to:

• Assess waste in health center processes;
• Develop a common language around performance improvement; and
• Identify small projects for which the acquired tools can be applied.

In addition, the sessions demonstrate how to engage staff in solution testing and implementation, as well as in developing targets and metrics for process improvement. In the last phase, the training demonstrates how to facilitate staff acceptance of changes, outlines the efforts required to sustain change, and emphasizes the need for continuous process and outcome improvement work across the organization.

The program also provides one-on-one coaching from GE Healthcare and League staff to assist with the application of session content. Combined, these tools add value to community health centers by developing the in-house capacity to train and sustain performance improvement initiatives. Added benefits include an increased ability to recruit and retain employees, and leadership development across health center organizations. However, the ultimate beneficiaries of these efforts are patients who gain enhanced access to health care services that are dynamic, responsive, and of the highest quality. 

Brookside Community Health Center, Geiger Gibson Community Health Center, Mid Upper Cape Community Health Center, Neponset Health Center, North End Waterfront Health, South End Community Health Center, and Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center are all currently participating in the GE initiative. Codman Square Health Center, Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, and Lynn Community Health Center all completed the first round training in early February. For more information on the program, contact: Antonia Blinn, ablinn@massleague.org.  

March 6th 

Disaster Behavioral Health Training: PFA 101/202 in Haitian Creole
Greater Boston Nazarene Compassionate Center, 9:30am-12:30pm 

Boston University Medical Center contracted with MDPH in the Haiti SERG Initiative to continue efforts to address the mental health needs of those affected by the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti. Through this collaboration, BU Medical Center is providing a series of emergency response trainings open to all health center staff free of cost that are interested in attending. Please RSVP for this FREE Training by filling out the following survey.

March 21-25th

NACHC Policy & Issues Forum