Strategic Quality Improvement Plan

The Central Michigan District Health Department (CMDHD) revised its agency strategic plan to create a new Strategic Quality Improvement Plan to be implemented over a 5 year period beginning in 2009.  The plan is designed to create quality improvement activities to meet the agency goal "to develop a strategic plan that will enable CMDHD to build capacity in order to improve performance and health outcomes".  The needs addressed in the plan were determined by completing an internal capacity assessment.  The assessment was designed to measure the agency's capacity to meet the Ten Essential Public Health Services. 

Facilitated discussions were held with the entire agency staff to review the assessment results as well as to determine if additional concerns/processes needed to be addressed.  Enhanced internal and external communication plans were identified as a cross cutting issue and therefore communication objectives were included in the plan.  The plan was endorsed by the Central Michigan District Board of Health in December 2008 and the board receives annual updates on the plan's accomplishments and barriers. The plan is reviewed and revised in December of each year as well. 

CMDHD estimates the costs for the assessment, facilitation and start-up costs to be $50,000.00. 

The benefits of having the plan in place in 2009 has put CMDHD in an excellent position to be able to apply for PHAB (national) accreditation and has improved many of the processes within the health department.  Such improvements include the development and monitoring of a CMDHD health indicator database, a paperless purchase requisition system, an improved internal communication structure, a coordinated agency marketing plan,  an enhanced effort in establishing partnerships to participate in research, and the near completion of a six-county community health assessment and community health improvement plan.