Promising Practices

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation

Goal: The State of Arizona's original interest in telecommuting arose out of the search for solutions to common issues facing many areas in the United States: traffic congestion, air pollution, and energy consumption. However, Arizona has found that telecommuting is a powerful management tool that increases employee productivity while reducing the cost of employee turnover.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children

Goal: The purpose of this project is to link Florida’s Title V program (CMS) and local Community Health Centers to:

- Reach and identify uninsured children with special health care needs in Florida and enroll them in insurance
- Focus on underserved communities that traditionally have faced numerous barriers to care, particularly those in the black and Hispanic communities, and children living in rural areas
- Use telemedicine to facilitate enrollment in CMS, care coordination, and access to specialty care
- Work with trusted community elders -- grandmothers -- as lay health partners to facilitate health-related outreach and support to children with special health care needs and their families.

In short, the project seeks to build a sustainable medical home for children with special health care needs in the safety net.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders

Goal: Baylor Scott & White started TelePsych because many of its hospitals do not have any psychologists or psychiatrists on staff. The Hillcrest hospital in particular has seen an increase in patients needing acute mental health care. Its location next to the highway and the dearth of other trauma centers means that the hospital receives 1-2 patients per day with acute mental health needs. Hillcrest has licensed medical social workers in the Emergency Department but struggled without an actual psychologist or psychiatrist available. Their goal in implementing TelePsych was to move mental health patients through the continuum of care efficiently and with empathy.

Impact: The hospital staff at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest has been very impressed with the implementation and ease of use of the TelePsych process and system. Patient satisfaction has increased and staff are able to move patients through the next level of care more efficiently.

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Urban

Goal: One of the primary goals of Bronx Center is to ensure that area residents and businesses gain access to as many jobs, both construction and permanent, and contracting opportunities as possible. Other goals include renovating the Bronx Borough Courthouse and transforming it into The Bronx Planning Center and improving education, housing, and the economic state of the community.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban

Goal: The CO2 Reduction Plan was officially adopted by the Chula Vista City Council in November 2002 and aims to reduce CO2 emissions to 80% of 1990 levels by the year 2010. Specific action measures include:

- Municipal clean fuel vehicle purchases
- Green power use and public education program
- Telecommuting and telecenters
- Enhanced pedestrian connections and increased housing and employment density near transit
- Bicycle lanes, paths, and routes
- Energy efficient landscaping
- Solar pool heating
- Traffic signal and system upgrades

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Diabetes, Adults, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The Diabetes Self-Management Program is a group workshop that educates individuals with diabetes on techniques to help them manage their disease and live more active lives.

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Community & Business Resources

Goal: The mission of the Holistic Management Project was to develop capacity in a diverse group of individuals and to improve the social, ecological, and economic status of the state of Washington and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment

Goal: The Louisiana Recovery Authority is working with Governor Blanco to plan for Louisiana's future, coordinate across jurisdictions, support community recovery and resurgence, and ensure integrity and effectiveness. Working in collaboration with local, state and federal agencies, the authority is addressing short-term recovery needs while simultaneously guiding the long-term planning process.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve standards of care for patients with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in Missouri.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children

Goal: The purpose of this four year project is to work in support of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau to meet its Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) National Agenda performance outcome that “all families of CSHCN will have adequate private and/or public insurance to pay for the services they need.” The work of the cooperative agreement will be multi-faceted and will (1) overcome the gaps in knowledge about CSHCN’s health care use and charges, (2) assess the extent to which CSHCN are receiving the health care services they need and the degree to which reimbursement is adequate to meet those needs, (3) identify trends in and developing recommendations for financing strategies, and (4) disseminate this information to families, health care providers, public and private health plans, and policy makers.