Grace Duffy, standing at the right, facilitates a QI learning session with 20 members of the
Connecticut Department of Public Health’s management team.
Why are people smiling in this photo? Because they are learning and enjoying themselves at a Quality Improvement (QI) training facilitated by PHF Consultants,
John W. (Jack) Moran and Grace L. Duffy. The
Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) held two half-day training workshops for managers, directors and Branch Chiefs in spring 2011 covering QI methods and tools.
Now, more than ever, DPH is interested in learning and using QI tools as it recently became a Component I grantee through the
National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII), supported through the Prevention and Public Health Fund of the Affordable Care Act. DPH wants to enhance its workforce capacity to apply QI tools and methods in order to improve work efficiencies and increase effectiveness. A long-time affiliate of PHF’s
TRAIN learning management system (LMS), DPH used the TRAIN query feature in fall 2010 to learn that DPH had not offered QI training since 2004, and no managers had received any online QI training through TRAIN. DPH then engaged PHF to provide QI training, starting at the top of the organization. As of May 2011, 85% of DPH management (35 key professionals across the agency) has had basic QI training, with rapid cycle improvement sessions planned for other employee groups in summer 2011. Using evidence to make decisions is a hallmark of QI and of the public health field; the TRAINLMS is a valuable tool for health departments to identify workforce development needs and track progress over time. Use the links in this article to learn more about how PHF can help your agency with
QI consulting and training services and about how
TRAIN can help identify and respond to training needs.