The Spring 2016 Open Forum for Quality Improvement in Public Health (Open Forum) will be held April 7-8, 2016, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Open Forum facilitates the exchange of best practices, expands the community of practice, and builds capacity among public health departments for accreditation and quality improvement (QI) activities. The event focuses on contemporary advances, inspirational stories, tools, and cutting edge topics from the field of QI in public health. The Open Forum is hosted by the National Network of Public Health Institutes and is sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Public Health Foundation (PHF) will conduct two breakout sessions and display materials at this year’s Spring Open Forum, to increase attendees’ knowledge of useful QI, performance management, and workforce development information for public health professionals.

 

Please join PHF experts at the following sessions:

 

Thursday, April 7, 10:45am-12:00pm in White River Ballroom J
“Workforce Development Planning: Tips and Tools” - Led by Ron Bialek and Julie Sharp

A skilled and competent workforce is critical to an effective organization, but how do you ensure your staff’s skills are well matched to the positions they fill as well as the needs of your organization? Workforce development planning is one important step to building a strong workforce, as emphasized by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) in Domain 8 of its Standards and Measures.  Workforce development plans can include descriptions of the current workforce, assessments of staff competencies, plans for addressing competency gaps identified by the assessments, challenges to addressing these gaps, and strategies to overcome those challenges, among other elements.  During this session, “tips and tools” will be presented that can help you and your organization with workforce development planning.  Participants will be provided with links to online resources and tools that can assist with workforce development planning. 

 

Friday, April 8, 11:00am-12:30pm in White River Ballroom I
“Achieving Strategic Goals Through Performance Management” - Led by Amanda McCarty and Julie Sharp

This working group will introduce the elements of a performance management (PM) system in public health, with an emphasis on aligning organizational plans. Participants will assess current PM activities in their organizations and learn to identify measures that can inform decision-making on strategic initiatives. Participants will also learn how various accreditation requirements align with one another, and the role a PM system plays in effectively implementing and monitoring plans over time.

 

Please also stop by PHF’s display table at the event for helpful resources and tools to assist you with your work in performance management, quality improvement, and workforce development, including:

We look forward to connecting with you at the Open Forum. Please stop by the PHF sessions and information table to meet our staff and find out how PHF can help you and your organization.