Resources & Tools

SCAMPER Technique is a process improvement tool that helps teams improve existing processes or create new ones. Introduced in Michael Michalko’s book Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques, the SCAMPER Technique is presented here as a supplement to the Public Health Foundation (PHF)...

Planning Before You Communicate Tool

February 13, 2014

Health departments must have good, consistent, clear, crisp communications both internally and externally. A comprehensive and strategic communications plan for the department sets the foundation for staff to develop and execute communications effectively: to reach the target audience in the right...

An Accreditation Maintenance Tool

January 30, 2014

The Oklahoma City-County Health Department (OCCHD) is a trailblazer during these initial years of public health accreditation. Among the first health departments to be accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), OCCHD continues to innovate and share, providing a living example of continuous...

Visualizing Your Organization’s QI Culture Growth: A QI Culture Map

December 6, 2013

While the culture of an organization is difficult to observe, its impacts reverberate at all levels of operation. Organizations that desire a Quality Improvement (QI) Culture need all employees focused on customer satisfaction, excellent services, and continuous improvement. As efforts to foster these...

From Good to Great: Using QI to Standardize Prescription for Health

October 30, 2013

Staff at Washtenaw County Public Health (WCPH) in Michigan used grants from the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Kresge Foundation to create the Prescription for Health program. The goal was to improve access to local and affordable produce by building connections among primary care,...

Rhode Island Uses Quality Improvement to Prepare for Domain 8

September 3, 2013

While quality improvement (QI) takes center stage in the Public Health Accreditation Board’s (PHAB) Domain 9, QI has an important role to play throughout the accreditation cycle. This case story shows how one state health department learned and applied QI to help prepare the department for Domain 8,...

Using a Driver Diagram to Target Optimal Antibiotic Use in Independence, MO

August 22, 2013

In 2012, the Independence Health Department (Independence, Missouri) began participating in an Antibiotic Stewardship Program organized by the Public Health Foundation (PHF). Promoting optimal antibiotic use through both the public health and healthcare systems, PHF’s Public Health Antibiotic Stewardship...

Four Stages of Teamwork: Electronic Tuckman

August 9, 2013

Where are you in the four stages of group development? The Electronic Tuckman tool and accompanying Tuckman Survey Scoring Template (which references the questions in the tool) were developed by Public Health Foundation (PHF) quality improvement experts Sonja Armbruster, Erin Barkema, and John W....

Twelve Essential Questions to Help Improve Your Project's AIM Statement

June 12, 2013

Teams often flounder from the lack of an initial clear and concise problem statement. Once a team narrows their problem statement down to a discrete issue they are able to focus on, they can effectively apply quality improvement (QI) tools, and mature as a team. This saves valuable problem solving time...

Electronic Prioritization Matrix

April 22, 2013

Smart choices are informed by many factors, but what decision factors should carry the day? Using a prioritization matrix takes the guesswork out of this process, and when used by a group, can build consensus on what direction to take. Formulas in the electronic template translate multiple comparison...

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