The Health Transformation Journey of 53 Title V Teams

Full Description: An ever-changing environment has resulted in the sphere of maternal and child health growing and evolving in ways previously unimaginable. In response to these changes, the Title V workforce has adapted the ways in which they do their respective work, particularly over the last 5-7 years. States and jurisdictions nationwide are undergoing health transformation to address the emerging needs of their MCH communities. Health transformation focuses on reimagining systems and services to better meet the needs of MCH populations. This proposal reflects on this process and shares new insight on the journey of 53 Title V teams towards leading and engaging in health transformation across five domains:

· Shifting the emphasis of health care from disease management to prevention and population health management, while improving access to affordable health care
· Developing an interprofessional/interdisciplinary approach to health care
· Integrating primary care, specialty care and public health
· Developing evidence-based, efficient health systems that better incorporate ongoing quality improvement
· Driving partnerships across sectors to optimize the well-being of maternal and child health populations

Examples of Title V program health transformation projects that may be presented include: design of a toolkit for telehealth implementation to increase system capacity to address the needs of families with children and youth with special healthcare needs; engagement of young adults and partners to increase young adult utilization of health care services; creation of a one-year action plan to realign priority needs and performance measures of MCH programs and funding; or development of a comprehensive equity plan. A common thread central to success across the program projects that will be discussed is the reliance on and subsequent necessity of workforce skills. Strategic thinking, systems thinking, adaptive leadership, and communication will be explored and promoted as dynamic skills that can be directly applied to enhance the maternal and child health workforce.

This proposal relates to the conference theme, as it presents health transformation as a journey in which 53 Title V teams utilize workforce skills to understand their past, evaluate the present, and prepare for the future. Analysis of this journey and the skills central to its success (strategic thinking, systems thinking, adaptive leadership, communication) combine to address nearly all of the MCH leadership competencies. Furthermore, these findings can inspire and help shape the health transformation work of other Title V programs as they look to articulate their “why” and commit to the ultimate action of improving the lives of those within their MCH communities.