RESOURCES - Leadership Guide

Section 14 - Taking Action - Community and Statewide Events

Kids Group

There are many strategies and outreach activities that may be conducted by RAM coalitions. These efforts will greatly depend upon the resources, capabilities and ultimately, the support of their respective members.

A RAM Content Advisory Committee should include institutional leaders, policy-makers, consumer advocates and quality experts. This Committee will provide important advice when conceptualizing each event and recommend how best to leverage the collective contacts and knowledge of the coalition. The Advisory Committee shall work closely with the Communications Committee when designing such community events as:

Town Hall Meetings. Ideally co-sponsored by the local PBS station, a town hall meeting will provide an excellent platform and opportunity to feature a local Champion of Change while discussing the importance of improving the quality of health care. Speakers could include local policy-makers and quality experts as well as patient and consumer advocates. Reporters would be invited to attend the event and interview coalition spokespersons. RAM materials would be available for all of the attendees. Ideally, the meeting would be taped and segments could be incorporated into future news coverage and/or documentary programming. The town hall meeting could also be webcast and videostreamed on the RAM coalition or PBS station Web site.

Health Care Forums. The coalition may want to participate in pre-scheduled, statewide, health care forums that will bring together health care providers, purchasers, policy-makers and advocates. These events may focus on critical health care policies including the issues related to limited resources. The coalition should request that its particular issue be incorporated within the program. If successful, it will be incumbent upon the coalition to serve as a resource, including contributing expert speakers. The coalition should agree to promote the forum and announce the results to all of its members.

Statewide Roundtables. The coalition may wish to leverage an annual event, such as the "Patient Safety Awareness Week" which takes place the second week of March, to take action on a statewide basis. The governor could provide an official proclamation and a statewide roundtable event would feature leaders selected from each stakeholder group. Keynote speakers and participants could include policy-makers (e.g., state representatives, mayors and council members); prominent health care professionals (representatives of the state hospital associations, hospital administrators and public health agencies); consumer advocacy
organizations; and business leaders. Ideally, the event would be broadcast live and videostreamed on the coalition's Web site.

Community Screenings. In anticipation of the national premiere, the coalition may wish to sponsor a series of community screenings that feature segments of Remaking American Medicine and local programming produced by the PBS station. These events could take place in a variety of venues. The screenings might feature a follow-up panel discussion with coalition experts, policy-makers and consumer advocates. To facilitate attendance and impact, the coalition should promote each event and reach out to all segments of the community.

Community Health Fairs. Health care providers and purchasers often sponsor community or statewide health fairs which allow an excellent forum for sharing information on an informal basis. The coalition should seek an opportunity to participate in or create a community health fair that will focus on their selected issue. The health fair would provide an opportunity to feature local Champions of Change. If the coalition creates such an event, it may wish to invite its local PBS station to serve as a co-sponsor. Ideally the coalition will host an information booth where quality-related videos can be seen and promotional, bilingual materials will be freely disseminated. It may also wish to conduct a mini-survey focusing on the coalition's quality issue. The survey results should appear in local outreach efforts.

Discussion Groups. Throughout the year, coalition members should be encouraged to host informal discussion groups at their respective organizations. The discussion groups can be held at hospitals, health care clinics or community centers. To facilitate these conversations, a RAM Discussion Guide and video clips will be available later this year.

In addition, coalitions may want to utilize in local discussion groups Pursuing Perfection in Health Care, a seven-part video series with companion discussion guides intended to help raise the bar
on health care performance. Each of the videos features a stand-alone story of how health care organizations are overcoming specific challenges to the delivery of quality care. The series, which can be purchased on www.IHI.org, includes:

The Quality Chasm
Involving Patients in Redesigning Care
Planning for Chronic Disease
Improving Care at the End of Life
Engaging Doctors in Redesigning Care
Safety as a System Property
Navigating Complex Systems of Care

Tip: Review the Partner Web sites for videos that may be used for local events. For example, the Institute for Family-Centered Care has one entitled "Creating and Enhancing Patient and Family Resource Centers" and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices has available several videos including the award-winning film, "Beyond Blame."

"Concerns about access to health care will also continue to be accompanied by efforts to ensure that the care people do receive is of high quality. We have seen the beginning of what we expect will be increased involvement by funders in supporting efforts to reduce medical errors and improve patient safety."

-- Lauren LeRoy, PhD, president and CEO
Grantmakers in Health

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