Design Thinking

31 07, 2020

Having trouble getting leadership sign off?

Terry Cyr2021-12-02T10:27:12-05:00July 31st, 2020|

It is a challenging time for the healthcare world, and it has never been more important for our hospitals and practices to offer its teams opportunities to grow and develop as leaders. However, it can also be a difficult time to ask for educational opportunities.

We want to offer you support in asking for the opportunity to join the upcoming SYNC cohort. See below for a basic email template that you can tailor and send to your leadership.

Click here to download the template in MSWord.

Dear ____,

These challenging and unprecedented times require a different way of approaching the way we […]

22 03, 2017

STEPS Forward: Practical Strategies for Optimizing Medical Practice

Stephen Horan2017-03-22T10:36:19-04:00March 22nd, 2017|

The pressure on health care practices to be accountable for quality and cost is real and intensifying. But sometimes we need to optimize our underlying practice structure and culture before we can devote adequate time and thought to producing quality breakthroughs that really matter. STEPS Forward can help by providing quick-start ideas for streamlining workflow and creating more time for clinicians to do what they do best.

STEPS Forward is a practice-based initiative produced by the American Medical Association. As stated on the STEPS Forward website:

Our goal is to provide you with proven strategies that can improve practice efficiency and help you reach the Quadruple Aim — better patient experience, […]

15 09, 2016

Workplace Physical Activity –UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity, California

Kim Waters2016-10-31T08:29:33-04:00September 15th, 2016|

Learn how physical activity in the workplace is helping eliminate cardiovascular disease and diabetes disparities in racial and ethnic communities. From the CDC, published in March of 2013.

15 09, 2016

Book Review: Making Places Healthy

Kim Waters2016-10-31T08:29:33-04:00September 15th, 2016|

It is well established that place matters for health promotion. But how do we go about making a place healthier? This is the question addressed in Making Places Healthy: Designing and Building for Health, Well-Being, and Sustainability (Island Press, 2011 available through major online booksellers). Edited byAndrew Dannenberg, Howard Franklin, and Richard J. Jackson, this book provides insight on healthy community design from dozens of authors with backgrounds in public health, community development, health care, and more.

The book opens with an introduction to the concept of healthy places, emphasizing areas of common interest between public health and the community design professions. The next section describes the impact of community design on […]

15 09, 2016

The 3-4-50 Framework for Health Improvement

Kim Waters2016-10-31T08:29:33-04:00September 15th, 2016|

We know from research that health status is influenced by multiple factors including genetics, social circumstances, environmental exposures, health care, and behavioral patterns. What we might not fully realize is that behavioral patterns have the single greatest influence on personal and population health. This means that achieving better health at lower cost will require improvements in health promotion and prevention at the community level. The 3-4-50 framework can be a helpful tool for focusing these strategies.

3-4-50: A Focusing Framework for Community Health Improvement
The three health risk behaviors are unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, and tobacco use.3-4-50 is a community health improvement strategy based […]

15 09, 2016

Healthy Options Sell in a Food Desert

Kim Waters2016-10-31T08:29:33-04:00September 15th, 2016|

Healthy options can lead to healthy profits. Learn how a small grocery store in the northern part of Omaha, NE, improved its bottom line while at the same time making healthy living easier for community members. From the CDC, punlished April, 2015.

15 09, 2016

Hispanic Grocer Says Produce Sells

Kim Waters2016-10-31T08:29:33-04:00September 15th, 2016|

Healthy profits and good health go hand in hand. Learn how fresh fruits and vegetables add up to increased sales for a corner store owner and easier access to produce for the neighborhood. From the CDC. published April, 2015.

15 09, 2016

Healthy Snacking in Philadelphia

Kim Waters2016-10-31T08:29:33-04:00September 15th, 2016|

Access to healthy food throughout the workday can be a challenge. Learn how one Philadelphia resident incorporated healthier snacking habits into her daily routine thanks to new healthy vending machines. From the CDC. May 2014.

15 09, 2016

A Grocery Store’s Healthy Options

Kim Waters2016-10-31T08:29:33-04:00September 15th, 2016|

Learn how the owner of a grocery store chain is helping improve his bottom line, and the health of his customers, by dedicating a checkout aisle to healthy treats; placing and promoting healthy food and drinks throughout the store; and encouraging kids to be more active by stocking toys that promote physical activity. From the CDC, published in August of 2013.

15 09, 2016

Healthy Corner Stores (Louisville)

Kim Waters2016-10-31T08:29:33-04:00September 15th, 2016|

Providing fresh fruits and vegetables is a win-win for two corner store owners in Louisville, KY, and their local customers. Learn how sales of healthy items are soaring in neighborhoods where store owners chose to make healthy living easier for their customers, improving community health and increasing store profits at the same time. From the CDC, published in August of 2013.