Collaboration in Virginia

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Collaboration in Virginia

• A Team Approach to Chronic Disease Prevention and
  Control
• Ramona Dawn Schaeffer, MSEd, CHES
• Virginia Department of Health
• Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and
  Control

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Coming together is a beginning, staying together
is progress, and working together is success.

• --Henry Ford

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Our History
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Purpose of Collaborating in VA

• Increase efficiency

• Increase cost effectiveness

• Utilize resources more effectively

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Who is involved? ALL Chronic Disease and Risk
Factor Projects
Asthma
Arthritis
Diabetes
Cardiovascular Health
Risk Factor Areas such as Physical Activity
Tobacco Use Control
Health Promotion For People With Disabilities
Cancer Grant and Virginia Cancer Registry
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Processes Used

• Approach
• Budget
• Structure
• Evaluation

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Our Approach

• Develop collaborative objectives each Year and
  determine budgets.
• All chronic disease projects contribute to the
  budgets, at varying levels.
• Grants include collaborative objectives.
• Work on collaborative objectives throughout a
  fiscal year (July 1 June 30)

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Our Budget

• Categorical grants contribute to an overall
  budget for each collaborative objective.

EXAMPLE Training Conference
We have moved beyond categorical funding to
combined funding for Collaborative projects that
meet needs for both 1) A Chronic Disease
Collaborative effort 2) Individual Projects
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Our Structure

• We have ManyOne coordinators who
• organizes and facilitates collaboration meetings,
• keeps collaborative process moving forward,
• works with team leads to ensure objectives are
  moving forward
• Collaborative objectives are assigned to teams
• Each team has a LEAD person
• Roles and responsibilities document

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Our Structure

• Monthly meetings are held with everybody to
• Discuss objectives
• Share progress on work
• Make decisions
• Work on objectives
• Teams sometimes meet to communicate and
  accomplish tasks
• Teams meet outside of ManyOne meetings to
  accomplish tasks
• Meetings include
• Detailed agenda
• Structured minutes (staff rotate)
• We operate under GROUP RULES

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Evaluation

• Annual Process Evaluation Survey
• Satisfaction with achievements
• Satisfaction with collaborative processes
• Assessment of attitudes

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Evaluation

• Annual Evaluation Retreat
• Offsite location
• Celebrate our successes
• Discuss survey findings
• Open, honest, heart to heart discussions
• Develop recommendations for process improvement
• Teambuilding activities

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Examples of Some Collaborative Projects
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Our Collaborative ProjectsChronic Disease LOGO
and Tagline

• Empowering message YOU CAN prevent and control
  chronic disease
• Used for individual and collaborative projects
• Used to answer a Who or What question

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Our Collaborative ProjectsRadio Spot and
Newspaper Print Ads
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Our Collaborative ProjectsInternet Campaign

• Series of Banner Ads
• Promoting You Can message for chronic disease
  and specific projects
• When clicked, directs you to more information

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Our Collaborative ProjectsData Reports

• Chronic Disease Data Report
• Chronic Disease Data Highlights Report

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Our Collaborative ProjectsOther Projects

• Identification and development of partnerships
  for interventions
• Chronic disease trainings
• Three statewide trainings
• Three One day workshops

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Our Collaborative ProjectsOther Projects

• Identification and development of partnerships
  for interventions
• Chronic disease trainings
• Grant Submissions and Awards
• Environmental and Policy Assessment Instruments
• Working on a Division Strategic plan

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Wearing the same shirts doesn't make you a
team.

• -- Buchholz and Roth

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Lessons Learned(and still learning)
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Lessons Learned

• It helps to have collaboration coordinators.
• Have time dedicated to the collaborative process.
• Effective collaboration takes TIME.
• Identify barriers to collaboration and
  find ways to resolve problems.
• Include collaboration in different facets of your
  chronic disease program.
• Identify LEAD persons for projects.

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Lessons Learned

• Identify roles and responsibilities.
• Establish strong systems for communication and
  accountability.
• Perceptions affect collaboration.
• Be Flexible and Supportive
• Collaborative talk is easy. The walk is hard.

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"Finding good players is easy. Getting them to
play as a team is another story."

• -- Casey Stengel

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For more information

• Ramona Dawn Schaeffer Ramona.Schaeffer_at_vdh.virg
  inia.gov
• Maureen Karch maureen.karch_at_vdh.virginia.gov
• Erika Jones-Haskins erika.jones_at_vdh.virginia.gov
  
• Phone number for Virginia Department of Health,
  Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and
  Control 804-864-7877