Celebrating 10 years of leading innovations across the Ryan White community.

 

NQC e-Newsletter | Your expert guide to resources and technical assistance focusing on improving HIV care.

 

Greetings!
 
I hope it is an enjoyable summer for you all so far. My thoughts turn to an old friend - the NQC Quality Academy. As you probably know by now, NQC added two new tutorials in the past few months on the HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau performance measures. These tutorials contain the most up-to-date information. We encourage you to view them; they are a great resource.
 
We are also interested in hearing about the ways you have used the Quality Academy in the past to train staff, refresh your own QI competencies or have your sub-recipients learn about quality improvement. NQC encourages you to send in ideas for new tutorials. The Quality Academy is a resource for grantees and our focus is to make the content as pertinent to you as possible. So tell us how you use it and what you want to see next by emailing us at  Info@NationalQualityCenter.org

Regards,  

Clemens Steinbock
Director, National Quality Center

> This Issue

In This Issue...

NQC Offering | Quality Academy: September is Back to School Month!

For many, September means it is time to hit the books. If you feel the urge to learn some new skills, the NQC's Quality Academy is a great resource!
 
The Quality Academy is an internet-based modular learning program that focuses exclusively on quality improvement. The tutorials stress quality improvement theories and methodologies, provide real world examples, and present methods for applying this information in HIV programs. Tutorials cover a range of topics from Quality 101 to very specific tutorials for ADAP and others. Learners can tailor the training content to their own needs and study when their schedule permits. Tutorials are available in English and in
Spanish.
 
Check out the Quality Academy today. Take one a day! | nationalqualitycenter.org/qualityacademy

> NQC Offering | Job Forum: Supporting the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Legacy of Expertise  
 
Experienced staff are a critical aspect of providing high-quality services. Across the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program community, people build expertise in their various positions. They are a critical resource. NQC's Job Forum is designed help connect skilled individuals with Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program providers. Grantees can their post quality improvement-related vacancies. We are sent postings from time to time and when you see this reminder in our e-Newsletter, it means we have postings to share with you.
 
There are also sample quality improvement job descriptions from grantees. These can be used to craft a new job description from scratch or to refine an existing one.
 
For more information | Click Here 
 
> Provider Corner | Tennessee Regional Group

September 2014 was a time of change for the Tennessee Regional Group. Formed in 2013 as the Nashville Regional Group, membership was expanded last September. Shelby County (Memphis area) Part A, C and D grantees joined the Nashville Part A, C and D grantees and the Tennessee Department of Health Part B.At the same time, the group was embarking on its first formal, shared quality improvement project. A priority for group members was to improve outcomes related to the HIV Care Continuum. As a group they decided to focus on viral suppression.
 
NQC coach Dan Sendzik helped the group work through a structured process based on PDSA -Plan, Do, Study, Act-Cycles. Each provider used their data to identify a baseline, set a goal, and conducted their own PDSAs, based on their needs.
 
"We asked members to do a problem analysis with their own team, come up with a strategy, and report their activities to the group," says Dan. "They came back with a broad spectrum of responses."
 
"The NQC helped members refine what they were going to study and come up with specific, measureable items," says Michael Rickles, a research analyst for Nashville's Part A Program. "Everyone wanted to run with lots of ideas. We talked them down to doing something that was measureable-where their results could be linked to one specific action."
 
During the early days of the Regional Group there may have been reluctance to share data and challenges, but as they stepped through the joint QI project, members quickly developed trust and became comfortable presenting their problem analyses and results.
 
"We emphasized that the process was not about competition between providers," says Michael. "It is about sharing and helping, not judging and grading."
 
NQC played a critical role in building trust across group members, sending the key message that the process is about doing better.
 
"It was critical to have a non-biased partner that could lead us through the process," says Jennifer Pepper, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Program Administrator for Shelby County. "Dan worked directly with some providers to set their goals. It was a very different dynamic than if it had come from us as the Part A grantee."
 
To facilitate the process, NQC developed a tool that walked providers through the PDSA Cycle. It identifies the specific steps and provides concrete examples. The providers used the tool to record their steps and findings and report back to the larger group.
 
"Often we assume that people know the methodology," says Dan. "For people who do not do it every day, the tool really helped."
 
Dan also emphasized to participants that it is okay to modify the intervention during the project-that is one of the principle tenants of the PDSA Cycle. You measure, look at your result and make adjustments where necessary.
 
"We let them know that they don't have to hit the mark the first time," says Dan. "We encouraged people to make modifications. This is a vibrant and living process."
 
While the sharing of different approaches in and of itself was valuable, the quality improvement project also yielded results. By March 2015, three of the five members reported increases in their viral suppression rates ranging from 4 to 15 percent. By June 2015, four members had seen an increase over baseline ranging from 3 to 15 percent.

> September 2015 | Issue 81 | Vol 7 

> NQC 10-Year Anniversary
Milestones and Highlights

Tell us how NQC has helped you!

> Upcoming Events | September 

 

Sept. 17   National  TA Webinar 


National Quality Center

New York State Department of Health

AIDS Institute

90 Church Street, 13th floor

New York, NY 10007-2919

Phone | 212.417.4730

Fax | 212.417.4684

Info@NationalQualityCenter.org

 

Improving HIV Care.


> Consumer Perspective | Michele Boyd

When she moved to Rochester in 2009 it was to die. Michele Boyd had two T-cells and did not expect to live long. As she was recuperating after being released from the hospital, she began to take online courses at the community college and received her Associate degree in Business Administration with distinction. She did not stop there. She went on to get a Bachelor degree in Social Work, magna cum laude. She is now working on a Master of Public Administration.
  
"Since I got my life back I want to give back," says Michele. "It is so important to break down the whole treatment thing, I want to help others empower themselves to take control of their treatment."
  
She has applied this expertise in both the professional and volunteer realm. She is currently a research assistant on the GREAT Study being conducted by Highland Hospital's Department of Family Research. The study focuses on empowerment issues related to people living with HIV. Michele recruits, consents, and trains study participants.
  
She is also a member of the quality management team and consumer advisory board at the Anthony Jordan Health Center. In addition, she recently organized the 4th Annual "Take Charge" Consumer Conference and Resource Fair for people living with HIV in her region. More than 50 consumers participated in the event.
  
"I try to provide tools and resources that can help my peers," says Michele. "We really focus on getting them past the stigma related to HIV, both internal and external."
  
In the midst of all of this, Michele participated in an NQC Training for Consumers on Quality in 2014 in Latham, New York.  Her take away was that the process is not difficult, you just need to develop an understanding of it, take advantage of the various NQC tools, and be open to ongoing learning.
  
"Throughout my academic work I have focused on HIV. The NQC training helped me to further apply my knowledge and focus it on quality where it can really have an impact," says Michele. "More importantly, I got a great sense of comradery with other people living with HIV who are looking at improving their lives."

> National TA Webinar | Drilling Down the Data and Developing Interventions

This month's webinar focuses on using data to explore key, care-related questions with an eye on improving patient outcomes. Objectives include:
  • Understand why and how to drill down data for improving retention and VL suppression rates among the most at-risk patients;
  • Learn how grantees are drilling down their data, problem solving challenges, and using their data for improvement;
  • Engage in discussion of how to use this approach within a program.
  
The webinar will take place September 17 at 3:00 pm ET.
  
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Meeting information
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Topic:
Drilling Down the Data and Developing Interventions
Date: Thursday, September 17, 2015
Time: 3:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)
Meeting Number: 640 861 827
Meeting Password: nqctacall123

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To start or join the online meeting
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Click Here or copy and paste this link into your browsers address bar:
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Audio conference information
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1. Provide your number when you join the meeting to receive a call back.
2. Alternatively, you can call one of the following numbers:
Local: 1-518-549-0500 or Toll Free: 1-844-633-8697
Follow the instructions that you hear on the phone. 
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace meeting ID: 640 861 827
 
To add this meeting to your calendar program (for example Microsoft Outlook), Click Here  or copy and paste this link into your browsers address bar:

> About Us

 

We provide no-cost, state-of-the-art technical assistance to all Ryan White Program-funded grantees to improve the quality of HIV care nationwide.  

 

Send questions, comments, or suggestions | Info@NationalQualityCenter.org   

 

This project/document was/is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U28HA041321200. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. 

 

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