National Public Health Improvement Initiative

On August 31, 2011, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) was awarded continuation funding of $1.09 million for Year Two of the National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII) grant by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The funding is made possible through the Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The purpose of this grant award is aimed towards making fundamental changes and enhancements in health department organizations and their practices in order to improve upon the delivery and impact of public health services.  This includes: 1) Increasing health department efficiencies of program operations to ensure seamless and coordinated services; 2) Preparing public health for readiness to apply for and achieve accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board, a national program launching in September 2011; and 3) Building upon the national network of Performance Improvement Managers by sharing and using evidence-based policies and practices for improving the public health system. 

CDPH will use the NPHII grant funding for the following initiatives:

• Assess current Performance Management (PM) and Quality Improvement (QI) activities within CDPH programs, and develop a plan to implement PM/QI throughout the Department
• Assess CDPH readiness for Public Health Accreditation
• Support exchange of information and resources among Local Health Departments in California in the areas of PM/QI and Public Health Accreditation
• Continue activities to help providers and hospitals achieve Public Health-related Meaningful Use objectives and clinical quality measures, including Electronic Laboratory Reporting, Immunization Reporting, and Syndromic Surveillance
• Promote training for public health staff on PM/QI and health informatics
  

Accomplishments for Grant Year One

The Year Two activities listed above will build upon Year One accomplishments of the NPHII grant. CDPH was awarded a total of $2.06 million in September 2010 for Year One grant activities. This funding has resulted in the following achievements:

• Establishment of a Performance Management Program within CDPH, which will assist the Director's Office in transforming CDPH into a performance-based organization
• Provision of health informatics training to CDPH staff by the University of California, Davis Health Informatics Program
• Coordination of grant planning with the two other NPHII grant recepients in California, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and San Diego Health and Human Services Agency
• Provision of information to healthcare providers and hospitals, including establishment of the CDPH eHealth in Public Health web page, to help them achieve Public Health-related Meaningful Use objectives from the EHR Incentive Program of the HITECH Act

Performance Management, Quality Improvement, and Accreditation Summit

One goal of the NPHII grant is to assist California Local Health Departments in the areas of Performance Management, Quality Improvement, and Accreditation. A Summit will be held at The California Endowment campus in Los Angeles on May 1, 2012, in support of this goal. This Summit will be followed by the CCLHO Semi-Annual Spring Meeting which will focus on the Public Health Accreditation prerequisites of the Community Health Assessment, Community Health Improvement Plan, and Strategic Plan.