September 2005 RAM Campaign Newsletter
Want the latest news on what is happening with Remaking American Medicine? Each month the RAM Campaign Newsletter features stories about the latest things happening with local coalitions, the campaign and the production series. All previous RAM Campaign Newsletters are available here.
Download the PDF Version of this issue here.
Production News
The Crosskeys Media® (CKM) production team continues to spend considerable time on the road videotaping sequences for the PBS series, including interviewing Champions of Change, as well as editing the programs in their Ventura offices. Here is the latest:
- Producer Lee Harvey, who is working on Program 2, has been exploring the issues of diabetes and congestive heart failure in Los Angeles and Louisiana. Unfortunately, Lee was in New Orleans just before Hurricane Katrina struck and was unable to get out of the city. The good news is that she survived the storm. However, many of the patients and providers she interviewed may have been significantly impacted. Lee has returned to Louisiana and is trying to locate the patients and doctors with whom she has been working.
- Filming on community-wide transformation efforts in Whatcom County, WA and the efforts in Pittsburgh, PA is in the final stages for Program 3. CKM will present a “rough cut” of this program to PBS in October.
- Filming continues in September for Program 1 at the Medical College of Georgia.
- Also in September, CKM plans to cover a portion of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) national bus tour that is being conducted on behalf of the “100,000 Lives” campaign.
Campaign News
Two New Partners
The National Committee for Quality Health Care (NCQHC) and The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation have agreed to become National Partners, bringing the number of Partners to 42 organizations.
The NCQHC is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) national, independent, educational membership organization comprised of senior leaders from all sectors of the health care industry sharing a common interest in quality as a foundation of health care delivery. Janet Corrigan, Ph.D., who recently was named president and CEO of the organization, directed the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Quality of Care in America Project that produced To Err is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm. Dr. Corrigan is also on the RAM series advisory panel.
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the nation. The Foundation is an independent voice and source of facts and analysis for policy-makers, the media, the health care community and the general public. The Foundation will host the National Symposium in their state-of-the-art facilities in Washington, D.C. next year.
Patient- and Family- Centered Care
“It’s your health ... you call the shots”
The communication team has adopted a new campaign tagline very much in keeping with one of the overarching themes of Remaking American Medicine, which is patient- and family-centered care. Many of the stories in the series highlight the efforts of providers, patients and families who are committed to transforming health care into a patient-centered system, community by community.
The Coalition Subcommittee was most helpful in developing a “White Paper” that provides RAM coalitions with specific action steps that can be taken in their communities to improve health care quality. The document also helps to provide more focus to the entire campaign.
The White Paper is being distributed to National Partners, QIOs, PBS stations and everyone else engaged in the campaign. It is available in the Resources section of RAMcampaign.org along with other resources and tools focusing on this same issue.
We urge you to distribute this document to your members and constituents who may be interested in becoming involved in the campaign.
Our thanks to Subcommittee co-chairs Carolyn Pare, CEO of the Buyers Health Care Action Group and Marc Boutin, vice president of the National Health Council, and to Beverley Johnson, president and CEO of the Institute for Family-Centered Care, for their guidance.
More Creative Coalition Examples
We continue to be impressed by the array of activities being undertaken by RAM coalitions. Here are two more examples. Please note how they are weaving in the theme of patient- and family-centered care.
WETA - TV
Arlington, VA
Heart disease is the number one killer of women. According to the American Heart Association, African-American women face a greater threat of death from heart disease than women of other races. WETA-TV, the public television station in the nation’s capital, is initiating a patient- and family-centered approach to cardiovascular risk reduction among African-American women.
The goal of this local campaign is to heighten awareness and encourage individuals to become more informed advocates of their own health care. A key institution focusing on health care in the African-American community is the church. The role of the faith community in addressing health-related issues has been, and continues to be, a vital and natural part of everyday life.
Coalition members include the Delmarva Foundation of the District of Columbia (QIO), the D.C. office of the American Heart Association and several African-American churches. The coalition will hold a series of educational forums in area churches and also reaching out to community-based clinics, hospitals, libraries and other African-American special interest groups. In addition, WETA will produce several short programs featuring local Champions of Change.
WHYY-TV
Philadelphia, PA
The public television station intends to conduct community awareness about quality improvement in health care, inspire the viewing audience and health professionals about innovate care and empower patients and families to become stronger advocates for the own health care. They also intend to showcase innovative care models, e g., Champions of Change, in the greater Philadelphia region.
WHYY is a member of the Caring Community, a coalition of 100 organizations
that include the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, the New Jersey Hospital Association, the Delaware Healthcare Association and the American Board of Internal Medicine. The station is working with local chapters of the National Partners including the American College of Physicians as well as with the Quality Improvement Organizations of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
The station will produce and broadcast related television and radio programming for distribution over multiple platforms, host a town hall meeting, create print and Web resources and links, and participate in community dialogues.
Promotional Tools
All the essential tools you need to encourage your members and constituents to start or join a coalition and conduct effective outreach can be found in campaign documents.
RAM Leadership Guide
The Remaking American Medicine Leadership Guide serves as an informational and organizational tool. It is meant to help community-based coalitions at all stages of development. It includes recommendations on how to conduct an assessment of local quality improvement initiatives that should provide a focus for each group and provides suggestions for a range of outreach activities working in collaboration with PBS stations.
The Guide contains background information on two specific issues that will be addressed in the series: patient- and family-centered care and chronic care. National Partners and QIOs have received printed copies of the Guide. The Leadership Guide is also available on www.RAMcampaign.org in PDF and interactive versions. Copies may be downloaded from the Resources section of the Web site. We encourage you to take advantage of this unique resource.
Video Clip
A 2½-minute video clip entitled “Improving the Quality of Health Care for Children with Cystic Fibrosis" is now available in the Press Room section of www.RAMcampaign.org. It can be downloaded and used on campaign participant Web sites or during coalition presentations. If you have any questions about the clip please call Allan Childers. His contact information is listed below.
Promotional Kit
Released in March, the promotional kit includes revised publicity materials that we encourage campaign participants to use in organizational newsletters and magazines and on their respective Web sites. The kit includes an introductory story about RAM, several side bar stories, a RAM Style Guide, RAM logos in color and black-and-white and a number of series related photographs. These materials will be updated on a regular basis. You need to access the password-protected area for National Partners or QIOs at www.RAMcampaign.org to download the Kit. You can also request a CD-ROM version by calling Ajeenah Amir (contact information listed below).
RAMcampaign.org
RAMcampaign.org is updated on a daily basis. We urge you to visit the site to find out the latest development and to access a growing list of products and tools developed by organizations that support quality improvement. The Connect with Others database continues to grow as coalitions expand nationwide. Please encourage your members, chapters and local stakeholders to become engaged. Direct them to this unique database where they can search by organizational categories as well as geographically for others involved in the campaign and a variety of health care quality issues.
If you have press announcements related to your organization’s quality improvement work and would like to have them posted on RAMcampaign.org, please send them to webmaster@RAMcampaign.org. We are including Partner news on the home page and on the site’s News section.
There are proprietary areas on the site for National Partners and QIOs.
If you didn’t receive a password to reach these areas, please contact: webmaster@RAMcampaign.org.
Invite RAM to a conference or meeting
If you have an upcoming conference or meeting and would like to feature the series, please let us know. Frank Christopher, executive producer, and Matthew Eisen, co-executive producer, are available for presentations, as are other members of the communications team. Our team is eager to work with you on arranging participation at your events. Please contact Lee Allen, project director.
Who to call
Devillier Communications, Inc. (DCI)
Linda Devillier, President: Strategic Counsel, PBS Stations, National Partner recruitment and relationships, QIO support. Available for presentations.
(202) 833-8121 ext. 3005, ldevillier@devillier.com or lbdevillier@aol.com
Barbara Lohman, Senior Vice President: Overall responsibility for campaign management, National Partner recruitment and relationships, QIO support. Available for presentations. (951) 340-0010, blohman1@aol.com
Lee Allen, Project Director: Day to day responsibility for the campaign. Serves as official liaison with Partners, QIOs and PBS stations. Manages PBS Incentive Grants Program. Available for presentations. 202-833-8121 ext. 3009, lallen@devillier.com
Ajeenah Amir, Project Coordinator: Responds to all requests for promotional materials such as written materials, series video clips and artwork. Provides overall support to QIOs/ National Partners Program and Web site. (202) 833-8121 ext. 3024, aamir@devillier.com
Allan Childers, Webmaster: Manages Remaking American Medicine campaign Web site. (202) 833-8121 ext. 3007, achilders@devillier.com
Crosskeys Media:
NOTE: Crosskeys Media has a new address and phone number. The new office address is: 2021 Sperry Avenue, Suite #5 Ventura, CA 93003. The new telephone number is noted by Frank’s name. The new fax number is (805) 650-8304. Matthew’s telephone number remains the same.
Frank Christopher, Executive Producer: Remaking American Medicine
(805) 650-8300, fc@crosskeysmedia.com
Matthew Eisen, Co-Executive Producer: Remaking American Medicine
(619) 283-0480, me@crosskeysmedia.com
