Performance Improvement
Public health performance improvement is positive change in public health capacity, processes, or outcomes through the use of clear and aligned planning, monitoring, and improvement activities. Performance improvement relies on the use of evidence and continuous, formal activities that strengthen public health organizations and systems. It can occur and be measured at the system, organization, program, or employee level.
NACCHO Announces 2019-2020 SSSC TA Cohort
NACCHO and the CDC are excited to announce the health departments and communities selected for this year’s Strong Systems, Stronger Communities (SSSC) Technical Assistance (TA) cohort. The SSSC initiative supports local health departments (LHDs) in completing public health performance improvement projects through a tailored in-person and virtual training, TA program and peer networking.
Marion County Public Health Department (Indianapolis, IN), Logan County Health District (Bellefontaine, OH), Florida Department of Health Escambia (Pensacola, FL), Napa County Public Health (Napa, CA), Wauwatosa Health Department (Wauwautosa, WI), Mercer County Health Department (Aledo, IL) and San Juan Basin Public Health (Durango, CO) were selected for this year’s SSSC TA cohort through a competitive process. Through the training and TA provided, these sites will work to address the social determinants of health and health equity on a range of topics including infant health, mental health, food insecurity, and poverty. Each team will hold an Equity Action Lab with their communities, during which they will work with community partners and community members to identify, design and test solutions to make advancements in a short period of time.
Visit the NACCHO SSSC website for more information on the SSSC program and previous sites selected.
The Performance Improvement team at NACCHO has expertise in the following areas. Click on any of the links below to find our tools, resources, and current and past projects in each of these areas.
The NACCHO PI team has a wide range of expertise and extensive experience with providing PI related technical assistance (TA) to LHDs. NACCHO staff are available to take ad-hoc TA requests via phone or e-mail.* Listed below are examples of common TA requests:
- Expert guidance/consultation – NACCHO staff can provide guidance or advice as you are engaging in PI processes. For example, LHDs may need strategies for gaining partnership buy-in during a community health improvement planning process, completing a QI project, or designing a strategic planning agenda.
- Peer-to-peer connections – With a multitude of LHD relationships and knowledge of PI activities across the field, our staff are well positioned to facilitate peer-to-peer connections, connecting LHDs working on similar PI goals or challenges.
- Identifying resources – As LHDs begin to implement PI processes, we can assist in directing you to the most relevant resources based on your needs.
- Accreditation documentation review – NACCHO staff may serve as an objective third party reviewer of your accreditation documentation, up to 2-3 hours of staff time. For example, we can provide feedback on strategic plans, community health assessments and improvement plans, QI plans, workforce development plans, or other documentation for the PHAB Standards and Measures.
*Please email [email protected] for TA requests and questions. There may be a fee associated with more in-depth TA. NACCHO is also available to provide in-depth, fee based consultation services including in-person trainings and facilitation of performance improvement processes. For more information, please see NACCHO consulting.
See our PI Curriculum and Webinars page for the archived PI curriculum and our archived webinars on a variety of PI topics, listed in chronological order.
Performance Improvement Success Stories
Read our new Performance Improvement success stories from Columbus Public Health and Salt Lake City Public Health, where rigorous quality improvement (QI) led to enhanced teamwork and effective fiscal management.
Performance Improvement Success Stories August 2019
NACCHO Stories of PI Impact
Two local health departments share stories of PI impact in the videos below.
Columbus Public Health Success Story
Salt Lake County Performance Improvement Success Story
Addressing Social Determinants of Health: Stories from the Field
NACCHO's Stories from the Field highlights local health department successes, challenges, and innovations. Public health is evolving to take a more holistic approach to population health by focusing on the social determinants of health (SDOH)—the conditions in which people are born, live, work, and age, and which are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources. In 2019, NACCHO added Healthy People 2020 SDOH tags, according to the specific SDOH areas addressed through the initiatives, to the Stories from the Field. It is now possible for communities to see how SDOH are being addressed at the local level to ameliorate a broad range of health concerns. Find local examples of SDOH interventions here.
Additional Publications
NACCHO’s Performance Improvement team makes it a priority to monitor and contribute to the latest public health performance improvement research and editorials in the field. These publications, authored by NACCHO staff or related to NACCHO PI programs, are geared toward public health practitioners offering peer reviewed research, the latest trends, and various field perspectives on the latest performance improvement happenings at the local, state, and national levels. Find performance improvement literature here.
Public Health Infrastructure and Systems
Ashley Edmiston
Director, Workforce Development
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Public Health Infrastructure and Systems
Anna Clayton
Senior Program Analyst
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Public Health Infrastructure and Systems
Asia Island
Program Analyst, Assessment
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Public Health Infrastructure and Systems
Bianca Lawrence
Senior Program Analyst, PHIS
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Public Health Infrastructure and Systems
Jada Johnson
Programs Analyst, PHIS
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Join the Performance Improvement Virtual Community
NACCHO has established a virtual community of local health department (LHD) staff who work on Performance Improvement to support learning, engagement, and information exchange among LHDs. At this time, the community will be facilitated via NACCHO’s Virtual Communities. To join the community, complete the form below.
Please contact Asia Island, Program Analyst, Performance Improvement, at [email protected] with any questions.
To get the latest information on public health performance improvement tools, resources, best/promising practices, and funding opportunities, sign-up to receive NACCHO’s PI Compass e-newsletter. Each issue features resources and events under the performance improvement umbrella, including accreditation, quality improvement, performance management, CHA/CHIP, and health equity.
Please forward this information to your colleagues and partners, and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe, please log-in to your My NACCHO account. If you do not have a “My NACCHO” account you can sign up by clicking here.
- Once logged on click on “My Subscriptions” in the left navigation menu
- Check the box for “PI Compass”
- Click “Save” at the bottom of the page
For more information about our Performance Improvement team, you can use the form above or email [email protected].