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King County Healthcare Coalition
ASSESSEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS
ASSESSMENT
Before launching the King County Healthcare Coalition, Public Health assessed the County environment as well as what was working in preparedness and response in the region. In addition to assessing the key considerations described in the Assessing the Current Landscape section, Public Health also conducted in person interviews with key healthcare leaders in the community to assess their level of interest in the project and their willingness to get involved. These key informant interviews were an important vehicle to obtain information as well as continue or begin the relationship building process with key stakeholders.
The interviews followed a Key Informant Interview Guide and opened up dialogue about:
INSIDE THE HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT
Private healthcare agencies differ from Public Health. Public health focuses on population based strategies and traditionally is consensus driven. Healthcare agencies operate in a competitive market and it is important for Public Health to be clear on the best approach for working in this environment.
We recommend that your team "go to school" on healthcare organizations. Have a clear understanding of the organizational purpose, its history and its relationship to Public Health as well as to other community organizations. It may be helpful to conduct a number of key informant interviews to obtain this information.
Learn how healthcare executives in your area solve problems and work together in their community across organizational boundaries. Understand how the community's healthcare leaders view the role that Public Health has played and can play in facilitating coordinated emergency planning and response. Be sure to document specific examples of successful collaboration and joint planning that can serve as a model for cooperating around disaster planning.
Learn how emergency preparedness fits inside each of the healthcare organizations. Are senior leaders providing oversight? Is a member of the senior management team responsible or has responsibility been delegated to mid-management? It is important to know who the internal key decision makers are for emergency planning.
INSIDE THE FIRST RESPONDER ENVIRONMENT
First responders such as Emergency Medical Services, Fire and Police have the daily expertise of crisis response and are very operationally oriented. Like healthcare, first responders are less consensus driven and operate under a predefined chain of command. First responders have a clear understanding of NIMS and ICS, making these agencies perfect partners for a healthcare coalition.
It is important to engage first responders early in the process to help clarify how this work will interface with the established relationships that first responders already have with hospitals, especially emergency rooms. It is important to demonstrate how this work complements the existing emergency response system by helping provider organizations accommodate large volumes of patients that exceed their normal capacity.
We recommend that your team "go to school" on your local first responder agencies. Have a clear understanding of the organizational purpose, its history and its relationship to Public Health as well as to other community organizations. It may be helpful to conduct a number of key informant interviews to obtain this information.
ENGAGEMENT
STAKEHOLDER DEVELOPMENT
The development process of key stakeholders can be time consuming and resource intensive but is one of the most important components for a Coalition's success.
Having clearly defined member and partner benefits and communicating these benefits to stakeholders will help provide the necessary background to help organizational leaders understand the value of being involved in a healthcare coalition.
A focus on the need for community planning as well as obvious gaps in a coordinating venue can be the most important factors in garnering support for the Coalition. Again, Public Health can be seen as a neutral facilitator that can help ensure fairness and equity within the health and medical response to a disaster.
Tips for approaching key stakeholders in a healthcare environment:
Tips for approaching key stakeholders in the first responder environment:
As a result of Public Health - Seattle & King County's assessment and interview process, a very positive response was received from key healthcare partners in the community. This included the only Trauma 1 facility in 4 states, as well as key partners in healthcare preparedness such as the hospitals, the Washington State Hospital Association, community health centers, the blood center, and the poison center.
Our next step was to formally gather stakeholders together to deliver the proposal for a community based Healthcare Coalition. Invitations were sent to the executive healthcare representatives asking for their attendance to a "Forming the Healthcare Coalition" forum. Attendance was high and the response was positive from the executive level participants.
Attendees were contacted after the meeting requesting their commitment to the development of the Healthcare Coalition. Currently, the King County Healthcare Coalition has 45 different member organizations participating.
ASSESSEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS
ASSESSMENT
Before launching the King County Healthcare Coalition, Public Health assessed the County environment as well as what was working in preparedness and response in the region. In addition to assessing the key considerations described in the Assessing the Current Landscape section, Public Health also conducted in person interviews with key healthcare leaders in the community to assess their level of interest in the project and their willingness to get involved. These key informant interviews were an important vehicle to obtain information as well as continue or begin the relationship building process with key stakeholders.
The interviews followed a Key Informant Interview Guide and opened up dialogue about:
- Pandemic flu planning and the implications for the health system
- Perceptions of the current structure for emergency response
- The role of Public Health in healthcare response
- The need for healthcare surge planning
- Ideal venues/meetings/groups that addressed common problems across the health system
- Perceptions on the need for a new structure and joint planning efforts
INSIDE THE HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT
Private healthcare agencies differ from Public Health. Public health focuses on population based strategies and traditionally is consensus driven. Healthcare agencies operate in a competitive market and it is important for Public Health to be clear on the best approach for working in this environment.
We recommend that your team "go to school" on healthcare organizations. Have a clear understanding of the organizational purpose, its history and its relationship to Public Health as well as to other community organizations. It may be helpful to conduct a number of key informant interviews to obtain this information.
Learn how healthcare executives in your area solve problems and work together in their community across organizational boundaries. Understand how the community's healthcare leaders view the role that Public Health has played and can play in facilitating coordinated emergency planning and response. Be sure to document specific examples of successful collaboration and joint planning that can serve as a model for cooperating around disaster planning.
Learn how emergency preparedness fits inside each of the healthcare organizations. Are senior leaders providing oversight? Is a member of the senior management team responsible or has responsibility been delegated to mid-management? It is important to know who the internal key decision makers are for emergency planning.
INSIDE THE FIRST RESPONDER ENVIRONMENT
First responders such as Emergency Medical Services, Fire and Police have the daily expertise of crisis response and are very operationally oriented. Like healthcare, first responders are less consensus driven and operate under a predefined chain of command. First responders have a clear understanding of NIMS and ICS, making these agencies perfect partners for a healthcare coalition.
It is important to engage first responders early in the process to help clarify how this work will interface with the established relationships that first responders already have with hospitals, especially emergency rooms. It is important to demonstrate how this work complements the existing emergency response system by helping provider organizations accommodate large volumes of patients that exceed their normal capacity.
We recommend that your team "go to school" on your local first responder agencies. Have a clear understanding of the organizational purpose, its history and its relationship to Public Health as well as to other community organizations. It may be helpful to conduct a number of key informant interviews to obtain this information.
ENGAGEMENT
STAKEHOLDER DEVELOPMENT
The development process of key stakeholders can be time consuming and resource intensive but is one of the most important components for a Coalition's success.
Having clearly defined member and partner benefits and communicating these benefits to stakeholders will help provide the necessary background to help organizational leaders understand the value of being involved in a healthcare coalition.
A focus on the need for community planning as well as obvious gaps in a coordinating venue can be the most important factors in garnering support for the Coalition. Again, Public Health can be seen as a neutral facilitator that can help ensure fairness and equity within the health and medical response to a disaster.
Tips for approaching key stakeholders in a healthcare environment:
- Be prepared. Most executive level representatives do not have a lot of time to dedicate so you must have a targeted approach.
- Ensure that desired meetings outcomes are well defined in advance and result in relevant productivity.
- Connect the benefits to their organization, their patients and their staff.
- Appeal to their sense of responsibility to the community for their involvement.
- Provide specific examples of how the Coalition can help them, e.g. secure additional resources, help train their staff, etc.
- Share examples of where this type of collaborative approach has worked successfully, e.g. other communities that have used coalitions or examples from the local community of successful collective actions.
Tips for approaching key stakeholders in the first responder environment:
- Practically and with an informed NIMS and ICS relevancy. These organizations respond to daily events and are the most experienced users of incident command.
- Provide specific examples/scenarios that demonstrate how this effort would improve their ability to do their jobs more effectively in a large-scale disaster.
- Offer to collaborate on trainings and exercises to learn from each other and build relationships.
- Request that first responders share their expertise through presenting at meetings.
As a result of Public Health - Seattle & King County's assessment and interview process, a very positive response was received from key healthcare partners in the community. This included the only Trauma 1 facility in 4 states, as well as key partners in healthcare preparedness such as the hospitals, the Washington State Hospital Association, community health centers, the blood center, and the poison center.
Our next step was to formally gather stakeholders together to deliver the proposal for a community based Healthcare Coalition. Invitations were sent to the executive healthcare representatives asking for their attendance to a "Forming the Healthcare Coalition" forum. Attendance was high and the response was positive from the executive level participants.
Attendees were contacted after the meeting requesting their commitment to the development of the Healthcare Coalition. Currently, the King County Healthcare Coalition has 45 different member organizations participating.
