Quality Improvement and Public Health in Kansas

1. Quality Improvement and Public Health in Kansas The Multi-State Learning Collaborative II Sunee N. Mickle, Esq. Senior Policy Analyst Kansas Health Institute October 12, 2007

2. Frontier Rural Densely Settled Semi-urban Urban Kansas Population Overview

3. Kansas Public Health System • Kansas has a decentralized public health system • In 2001, 103 of the 105 counties voluntarily organized themselves into 15 public health regions

4. Kansas Public Health Regions

5. Introducing QI to Kansas • March 2007 QI training workshop conducted by Stacy Baker of the PHF • 2 day workshop • 2 participants from each of the 15 public health regions • Representatives from KS Department of Health and Environment

6. Kansas MLC-2 Pilot Projects

7. West Central Public Health Initiative • Pilot project addresses two NACCHO performance standards related to the vaccination of children ages 6 months through 59 months • Monitor health status and understand issues facing the community through the use of local data • Protect people from health problems and health hazards

8. West Central Public Health Initiative BASELINE INFLUENZA VACCINATION RATES 6 MONTHS – 59 MONTHS

9. West Central Public Health Initiative QI Findings • There is a need for increased education and awareness about the influenza vaccine for the 6 month to 59 month age group • There is a need for better advertisements and communication with parents

10. Wildcat Public Health Region • The MCH Oral Health Screening Project seeks to increase the number of children’s preventive dental screenings performed by health department practitioners in the region • The project also expects to increase oral health education provided to families during dental screenings

11. Wildcat Public Health Region QI Findings • Lack of client dental education materials • Need for staff training on oral health assessments • Lack of staff time to complete assessments • LHD electronic data systems need revisions to capture data

12. East Central KS Public Health Coalition • Pilot project addresses Public Health Essential Service #1: Monitoring community health status • The region narrowed the scope of the project by focusing on Maternal and Child Health issues and conducted a QI training workshop to frame the pilot project topic

13. East Central KS Public Health Coalition QI Findings • Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing and treatment procedures are not provided uniformly throughout the region • STI testing and treatment protocols are different for each local health department in the region

14. Kansas MLC-2 Project Issues • All three KS public health regions face data issues • Not all local health departments use the same data system • Solutions that work best for an entire public health region may not be the best solution for an individual county local health department

15. Tackling the Issues • Review and discussion of data systems by state and local health departments • Understanding that projects like MLC-2 help test the ability of public health regions to handle every day public health issues

16. Plans for the Future • Multi-faceted Approach • Structural Reformation---Political Support • Service Reformation---Support for Common Vision • Cultural Reformation---Workforce Development Support IT Systems Support • Incorporate QI Training into on-going public health training programs

17. The Future Continue positioning ourselves for accreditation. . .

18. Kansas Health Institute Information for policy makers. Health for Kansans.