RESOURCES - Leadership Guide

The following is a suggested series of activities that you may wish to undertake when organizing or participating in a RAM coalition.

Log on to RAMcampaign.org. Visit Connect with Others to determine if a RAM coalition is forming in your community. If so, contact the chairperson or facilitator. If your community already has a coalition focusing on quality-related issues, you may suggest they bridge their activities with your RAM coalition and join the campaign.

Take Ownership. If a RAM coalition has yet to form, and you want to take charge, meet with your management team. Introduce them to the series and the campaign. Review how the local coalition can be of benefit to your community. If they agree that improving the quality of health care fits within your institutional mission, enlist their support and take a leadership position.

Put Together an Exploratory Group. As previously noted, seek out members of the National Partners and reach out to other local health care organizations, consumer advocacy groups, civic and faith-based organizations and policy-makers who are involved in health care issues. Invite their leaders to participate in an exploratory meeting. Be sure to include your local PBS station.

Convene the Group. After introducing Remaking American Medicine and the outreach campaign, you will want to discuss:

• Health care quality issues that are of concern to the group.
• Preliminary objectives of mounting a local campaign.
• Community leaders who may become involved and champion the cause.
• Coalition structure and decision-making processes.

If there is a consensus to move forward, the group should select a chair and determine a clear delegation of responsibilities including the establishment of a:

Steering Committee: responsible for helping set campaign goals and defining the parameters of the outreach effort. The steering committee should oversee the initial community assessment,
create a strategic plan of action and manage the campaign.

Development Committee: responsible for seeking campaign resources.

Content Advisory Committee: responsible for providing advice and support for matters related community events.

Communications Committee: responsible for developing the marketing materials, undertaking a publicity and advertising campaign and leveraging the coalition's internal communications capabilities.

Conduct a Quality Improvement Needs Assessment. Once the coalition is officially formed, one of the most important first steps will be to properly evaluate and determine the specific quality issue that will serve as the basis for the campaign. This effort will be critical for clarifying the purpose of the campaign and developing a consensus of support.

As mentioned earlier, PBS stations have considerable experience in the area of community assessment, as will undoubtedly other coalition members.

The Community Tool Box provides detailed
information on how to conduct community
assessments including sample surveys. A summary of their recommendations, together with our suggestions in italics follows:

• Determine the goals for performing the survey, including how the results will be used in the campaign. (Discuss the expertise of coalition members and what relevant research they may already have undertaken related to the health quality issue.)

• Decide how to define "community" for this assessment - metropolitan area, county, or state. (If your coalition intends to conduct a statewide campaign, include individuals who represent urban, suburban and rural areas. Be sure to also include minority and underserved audiences.)

• Decide how to obtain survey responses, through interviews (phone, e-mail, face-to-face) or written responses. (An online survey will facilitate the process and minimize costs.)