Building a culture of quality is an on-going challenge for health departments, particularly those pursuing national public health accreditation for the first time or that are seeking reaccreditation. Accreditation coordinators identified performance management and quality improvement as the top two training needs for their health departments according to the training needs assessment conducted for the Ohio Accreditation Learning Community.
The Public Health Services Council of Ohio (PHSCO) is a regional council of governments building local health departments’ capacity to deliver foundational public health services through shared service arrangements. PHSCO is adding Quality Improvement (QI) training, facilitation, and coaching to its menu of services in response to the needs assessment. Consistent with PHSCO’s mission to offer solutions for today’s public health needs, these proposed services are intended to support local health departments’ efforts to adopt cultures of quality and achieve/maintain Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) accreditation.
PHSCO collaborated with the Ohio Public Health Institute to make QI Training and Support Services accessible to 15-20 local health departments in 2025. PHSCO Executive Director Anne Goon teamed up with Hollingsworth Consulting to outline the parameters for the pilot that features Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt and Green Belt training, coaching, and certification. Participants gain a foundational understanding of this QI methodology through the Yellow Belt training. Those who participate in the Green Belt certification develop skills to lead QI teams and embrace the methodology by completing a real-world process improvement project for their local health departments. The Green Belt project delivers a measurable outcome demonstrating quality improvement, fulfilling a required example for either PHAB initial or reaccreditation. A sustainable culture of process improvement is augmented through the ongoing subject matter coaching by Black Belt Debra Eppley, MS, Nursing Informatics.
There will be two cycles of certification training available during Spring and Summer 2025. Ohio health departments and health districts interested in participating are encouraged to click here to learn about the FREE training opportunity, which includes a clickable link to register.
This partnership is an example of how Hollingsworth Consulting serves clients. Those interested in starting a conversation about how Hollingsworth Consulting is available to advance capacity building to meet your organization’s mission and vision are encouraged to contact Brad at brad@hollingsworthconsulting.net or via phone at 740-683-6722.