Uncertainty. It’s a theme that many public health practitioners are all too familiar with these days. So much is changing so fast. And yet it’s vital that public health keep up, adapt, transform, move forward — make itself into a lean, mean disease-fighting machine. It’s a lot for a public health plate that’s not only already overflowing, but being asked to hold more and more food with tinier and tinier plates.
Luckily, North Carolina — our generous host for the Midyear Meeting — has had some success tackling the problem. Its answer: Focus on continuous quality improvement; really zero in. According to opening session speaker Laura Gerald, North Carolina’s state health officer, the state has fully embraced the concept of quality improvement. A few examples: The state was the first to mandate all local health departments achieve accreditation; strategic public-private partnerships, such as the North Carolina Center for Public Health Quality, are rapidly driving momentum toward quality improvement across the state; and work to coordinate healthy living efforts and build capacity in under-served communities is creating new opportunities for better health all the time.
Keep reading this post from the 2012 Midyear Meeting Blog.
