Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
DCH Team,
We have had a lot going on over the past month, and I am so excited to tell you a little bit about all of the behind-the-scenes work that we’ve been undertaking!
First, I’d like to extend a hearty welcome to our two new Board members, Dr. Cynthia Rucker and Dr. Nelva Lee. Both attended our October Board Meeting and the wealth of knowledge they bring to DCH is exceptional. We’re very fortunate to have them!
We recently celebrated Customer Service Week. This year’s theme was “The Power of Customer Service,” and every one of you play a significant role in helping ensure we provide exceptional service for those we serve. Thank you for all that you do to serve our citizens.
Over the past month, I, along with a few of our staff members, have conducted a sort of roadshow across the state with the purpose of meeting some of our hospital partners, provider groups, Care Management Organization leadership, as well as the leadership among some of our other external shareholders, and it has been a great experience for all those involved.
We’ve heard varying perspectives from several of these groups regarding their interactions with the agency – thoughts regarding what is working and what’s not working. Through these conversations, we garnered enough information that eventually led to the development of three key focal areas that I believe will allow us to better serve, and I’d like to share those areas with you:
• Quality – Working to ensure that everything we do and each of the services that we provide are delivered with excellence.
• Customer service and the customer experience – Continuing to deliver the highest level of customer service to the people we serve. This entails finding additional ways to enhance the overall customer experience.
• Data – Leading with data and making more data-driven decisions.
As you’ve probably already heard, I am a strong believer in the power of data. In this month’s issue of DCHNOW!, we take a closer look at a few of the ways we’re using data to inform some of our decisions.
First, we give you insight into DCH’s Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Initiative – a new project that I envisioned for the agency to measure what we do, indicate what we’re doing well, and identify improvements needed. The Project Management Office, Office of Analytics and Program Improvement and members of our leadership team are working with divisions and offices across the enterprise to develop and execute this initiative. I know many of you provided existing KPIs for your area, and I look forward to working with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, a unit of the Board of Regents University of Georgia, to help us in building the framework for this initiative. We are also introducing the first of a two-part series on the Performance & Care Management Office within our Medical Assistance Plans (MAP) Division. Much of what they work on daily centers on data, and in this spotlight article, we find out exactly who makes up the team, and how they are using data to inform some of Medicaid’s health care strategies.
October 18th marked the beginning of the 2022 Benefits Open Enrollment season. You can access the Flexible Benefits Enrollment Portal by visiting www.GaBreeze.ga.gov. Open Enrollment ends on November 5, 2021, so please review, enroll and/or make changes to your Health and Flexible Benefits plan options as soon as possible.
Next, please remember that the Georgia State Charitable Contributions Program (GASCCP) is underway! When you donate, whether individually through the portal (https://gasccp.americascharities.stratuslive.com/), through the fundraisers, or through the fundraisers with your division or office, you qualify to enter a give-away for a chance to win a one-on-one lunch with me or one of three Amazon gift cards. Let’s continue to keep the donations coming.
Also, don’t forget that the kickoff of the DCH Division and Office Charitable Champions Competition began on October 13, and I know how competitive our teams can get! In addition to the GASCCP platform where you can donate individually, you may also participate by donating to either the Little Caesars Pizza Fundraiser or the Charleston Wrap Fundraiser hosted by your division or office ambassador. The 2021-2022 Charitable Champion traveling trophy, currently being held by the reigning champion, the SHBP Division, is at stake. Which division/office will claim the trophy this year?
In addition to highlighting agency happenings, we want to recognize October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We honor those who have been impacted by breast cancer, and stand with, support and rally around our team members and families who continue to push forward as we await a cure.
Before I close, I want to recognize some employee milestones within the past month:
• Five-Year Anniversary o William Bohlke
o Steven Gautney o Shonna Sears
• 10-Year Anniversary
o Lavinia Luca o Antonio Rios
• 15-Year Anniversary
o Karen Brown
• 20-Year Anniversary o Itovia Evans
I’d like to congratulate and thank each of you for your service to DCH and to Georgia.
If you have any questions for me, please feel free to reach out. I’d love to hear from you. Thank you for all you do for the communities we serve. Caylee
DCHNOW! Spotlight: Performance and Care Management Office
“Owning the Narrative – Who We Are”
Part One of a Two-Part Series
Data is essential. Most organizations compile data by the truckload. That’s the easy part. But how do we make that data truly work for us? How do we align it with our goals and mission at DCH? That’s not quite so easy.
Within our Medicaid program, DCH has a team of expert medical professionals analyzing that data to identify what is working – or not working – in order to meet the needs of those we serve.
Below, we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Kelvin Holloway, Dr. Carla Willis, and Dr. Gloria Beecher, as well as their teams, who help lay the foundation for many decisions we make within the Medical Assistance Plans (MAP) Division.
In 2018, when Dr. Holloway accepted the newly created role of Assistant Chief of Performance, Quality and Outcomes within the MAP Division, he came to the agency as a proven strategic leader. As a medical industry executive, Dr. Holloway knew the vital role data must play in driving DCH and our Medicaid services forward.
“I came into this role with the mindset of using my background knowledge to make a positive change in the way in which we approach quality and performance, and that is the path that I was paving,” said Dr. Holloway. “After being at DCH for just over a year, the MAP Division revamped and reorganized into four new offices. With that change, my role shifted a bit with me becoming the Deputy Executive Director of the reimaged Performance and Care Management Office.”
“I love what I do,” continued Dr. Holloway. “My passion lies in ensuring that as medical professionals, we are – to the best of our ability – always providing the best care possible. In this role, I was given the liberty to continue developing the vision for the
Dr. Kelvin Holloway
office and using the knowledge I’ve ascertained over the years to develop strategies to continuously improve the care that we are providing to our members. Data plays a massive part in those strategies, and my first priority was building out a team of data-driven intellects who could bring that vision to life.”
With the vision in place, Dr. Holloway restructured the office into two units. The Performance, Quality, and Outcomes Unit and the Population Health and Quality Planning Unit were both birthed from the reimaging – standing as independent entities, but also functioning as collaborative partners with the goal of achieving budget predictability and cost containment opportunities while measuring health care quality in our populations.
At the same time, those teams would need to be focused on systemwide performance improvements within MAP. The next greatest task was finding two individuals to lead the units, and execute the vision…
PERFORMANCE, QUALITY and OUTCOMES UNIT (PQO)
Dr. Carla Willis came to DCH in 2019, and knew she’d found her niche. A political scientist by training, she’s enlivened when conveying how passionate she is about “all things data.”
Once Dr. Holloway brought her onboard as the Director of Performance, Quality, and Outcomes, she set her sights on using DCH’s expansive database to reevaluate how the agency could make the greatest impact on the lives of Georgians who depend on MAP’s programs.
“One thing that is important to note about our office overall is that we do not collect data just for the sake
of collecting data,” says Dr. Willis. “All of the information that we gather – whether it’s related to how well our Care
Management Organizations (CMOs) are functioning at providing adequate services to our members to ensuring that there are enough workers with the necessary skills and competencies to meet health care demands – all of that information is extremely important in helping us develop effective strategies for enhancing the lives of our members.”
As the lead for her unit, Dr. Willis likes to think of PQO as a place where quality measurement, payment reform, and health innovation ideas are manifested – almost like a little workshop where concepts are continuously formulated to ensure that funding allocated for services is doing what it is supposed to do: properly addressing the disparities in health care and assessing opportunities for continued improvement.
Dr. Carla Willis
The PQO Unit is comprised of seven team members, inclusive of Dr. Willis, who complete the PQO circle:
Quality Review and Monitoring
• Kina Dewitt – Quality Review and Monitoring Supervisor • Dontricia Thomas – Data Visualization Specialist • Adrienne Johnson – Quality Review and Monitoring Specialist • Deborah Spaulding – Quality Review and Monitoring Specialist
Data, Analytics, and Decision Support
• Lounna Marcius – Data, Analytics, and Decisions Support Supervisor • Morlan Lannaman – Analytics and Decision Support Specialist • Gail Lockman – Analytics and Decision Support Specialist
“With the proper players in place, we’ve moved away from measuring just to measure, and everyone on this team plays a major role in that construct,” continued Dr. Willis. “The information that we collect really helps our thinking regarding whether what we’re doing is working, or if we need to get rid of what’s not working. Every individual on this team has a unique skillset that helps us validate the work that we do – especially when we’re collaborating with the performance improvement experts housed within the Population Health and Quality Planning Unit. The marrying of the knowledge bases between our units allows us to take more intentional approaches to do right by our members.” POPULATION HEALTH & QUALITY PLANNING UNIT (PHQP)
Finding the right fit to lead the PHQP Unit was a challenge. Dr. Holloway recalled a previous colleague that might be a fit, but he’d lost contact with her over the years.
On a mission to find a counterpart to continue building the office during the pandemic, which presented additional challenges in filling the role, Dr. Willis went on an investigative search of her own to find the woman that Dr. Holloway had mentioned.
After finally connecting with Dr. Gloria Beecher via LinkedIn, Dr. Beecher initially declined the opportunity to interview. After additional thought, she reached out to Dr. Willis a couple of weeks later to say she’d be interested in interviewing. Interestingly enough, the job was set to be reposted the following day. Dr. Beecher did interview for the role and ended up wowing the entire panel with her extensive insight surrounding health care and quality planning. This past September marked her one-year anniversary.
“I have a dual background in nursing and quality performance improvement,” said Dr. Beecher. “I worked in quality reporting, mostly in the hospital setting, but ventured out in 2017 and went to work for the Department of Public Health (DPH) as their Director of Nursing and Clinical Services. Having that experience with DPH, along with the combination of nursing and quality care, prompted me to apply for this role. What an exciting time it has been to come in and be a part of the change taking place in this office!”
Within the PHQP Unit, the primary focus lies in creating and strategizing ways to have a systematic and formal approach to analyzing practice performance, as well as developing methods to improve performance. This goes far beyond just looking at the data to determine how CMOs are performing in terms of volume and compliance with reporting mandates. It means looking at the quality of care that is being delivered and ensuring care is safe and meets the industry best practice standards. PHQP currently has five team members, including Dr. Beecher:
• Dr. Somo Hubbard – Manager of Special Programs and Population • Herman Ettien – Manager of Quality Performance Improvement • Gloria Jackson-McLean – Special Programs and Population Specialist • Dominic Molin – Performance Improvement Specialist
“This past year has been such a great experience for me working with my colleagues and a team that is open to my crazy, out-of-the-box ideas,” said Dr. Beecher. “We’re all in this learning space, combining our resources and pooling our experience to optimize our efforts to improve service as well as the health outcomes of our Medicaid members. It is imperative that we support the CMOs as we pivot to a new direction in quality and performance improvement. That is the only way we’ll have a real chance at being successful in improving performance and quality care within the state of Georgia.”
A CULTURE OF QUALITY SUCCESS
Achieving goals that will positively enhance lives is the lifeline that drives the work of the Performance and Care Management Office. When speaking about some of their greatest successes from the past year, of which there have been plenty – so many continue to fly under the radar. But the work remains critical. Because as we’ve heard Commissioner Noggle say on more than one occasion, “if we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it.”
Dr. Gloria Beecher
For Dr. Willis, she’s ecstatic about the Quality Performance Dashboards that are now posted on the DCH website. The dashboards allow users to review performance measure ratings for the managed care population both overall and by individual CMOs. For internal and curious external stakeholders interested in delving deeper into the CMO quality measurement rates, this publicly available resource is very informative.
“I am most excited about our quality dashboards because it gives us an opportunity to kind of tell our own story,” continued Dr. Willis. “Throughout this process, we’ve had the opportunity to work with other offices within the agency to develop a visual product that details performance measures and rates – and it is easy to navigate. We finally launched the dashboard in August, and the whole endeavor not only produced a tangible display of the work that we do, but it also gave us an opportunity to see skills within our teams that we didn't know existed; this actually created growth opportunities for our team members. This project was definitely a big win for us.”
For Dr. Beecher and her team, finalizing the revisions to the quality strategy plan was a victory they’re proud to have accomplished during the last year. The 100+ page high-priority document, completed a few months ago, was submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in late-September, and the final product is proudly posted to the DCH website for public awareness.
“For the PHQP Unit, we were intentional about the goals and strategies we included in the Quality Strategic plan,” said Dr. Beecher. “We tried to be as relevant and proactive as possible with considerations to the current healthcare environment and existing opportunities for improvement. I really appreciate working with a group of forward-thinking individuals who are consistently putting the well-being of our members first.”
In no way do the accomplishments stop with these two examples. This office is putting in the work and the successes are plentiful. Another notable triumph surrounds a topic that, without fail, continuously grabs major headlines. Let’s talk about post-partum care…
*Next month, come back to learn more about how the Performance and Care Management Office is leading the charge surrounding post-partum care throughout Georgia – and being recognized nationally for its efforts!
DCH Strategic Initiative – Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) When Caylee Noggle embarked on her journey as the new commissioner of DCH, she came to the agency with a fresh perspective that included focusing on accountability and transparency. From that viewpoint, she began working with senior leadership to establish an Enterprise Performance Dashboard which will include Key Performance Indicators that demonstrate how effectively the agency is achieving its key business objectives. This approach will play a vital part in establishing how well the agency is actually performing and help the agency identify areas of focus and improvement. Commissioner Noggle places emphasis on utilization of data, quality measurements, and the integrity of data. She expects us as an agency to hold ourselves to a higher standard of excellence for the communities that we serve, and believes we can effectively do so by measuring how well we are performing via metrics. As previously mentioned in a prior article, Commissioner incorporated this new goal related to KPIs into the agency’s updated strategic plan which was recently submitted to the Office of Planning and Budget. Both the Project Management Office (PMO) and the Office of Analytics and Program Improvement are leading the endeavor of getting this internal initiative rolling. Based on this collaborative effort, the goal is to identify developing trends that shows if the agency is on track to meeting its overall goals, or if the Department should pivot to tackle possible pain points that may slow progress. The end goal is to have an internal enterprise dashboard that shows the continuous tracking of agency goals. “As a starting point for this project, we reached out to leaders and asked them to submit the identified goals that show how they define success within their respective offices and divisions,” says Shawn Walker, Director, Program Management Office. “I was so amazed! The different program areas did a phenomenal job in identifying the metrics that they are currently tracking – more than 450 metrics agency wide – and that doesn’t even include the additional items they are working on that may not be tracked at this time! These offices and divisions are really invested in showcasing the work they are doing, and to me, it shows that they are motivated and really serious about doing the right thing. The passion that they have for the work they are doing is quite admirable.” As the project continues to evolve, the agency will use additional outside resources that will come in, and help fine tune the many metrics that have been received to date –
eventually coming up with a final plan that will serve as the blueprint for the internal KPI dashboard. “What we are doing with this KPI initiative is a really progressive move on the Commissioner’s part,” continues Shawn. “DCH is doing a lot of great work, and I’m confident that this process will help us to showcase that work a lot better. Individually, we may all have personal goals we’re working towards within our current role, but through this initiative, we’ll also be able to visually show our team members how their individual work is impacting the bigger DCH machine – how the output continues to positively affect the Georgians that we serve.” There is still more to come regarding the KPI initiative. Stay tuned for more within the coming months!
Ways to get more exercise Adding exercise into your daily routine, can improve your health. Exercise can help give you more energy, sleep better and make you feel better overall. For most healthy adults, the recommended amount of exercise is 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week of moderate aerobic activity. It’s important to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program, especially if you haven't exercised for a long time or have chronic health issues.
In addition, there are some simple ways to incorporate more exercise into your daily routine:
Take quick stretch and exercise breaks at your work desk. (For example: Do a series of squats or lunges).
Use the stairs instead of the elevator.
Park farther from the entrance to add some extra steps.
Add some incline to your treadmill workout to burn extra calories.
Take a walk at lunch rather than sitting the whole time.
Learning the warning signs is one of the best ways to protect yourself against breast cancer. Here are some of the most prominent ways you can detect it. Register for the Be Well SHBP well-being program to find out more helpful information about breast cancer and join the RealAge® program to better create healthy habits.
