DESIGN+Health
.svg)
Rebuilding california's public hospital systems in the aftermath of covid-19
DURATION
May - November 2022
ORGANIZATION
Safety Net Institute
ROLES
Lead (team of 6)
Curriculum design
Project management
Research
Workshop facilitation
Background
As we emerged from the most severe stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, California’s public hospital systems had to pick up the pieces and rebuild their ambulatory (primary+specialty) care systems in a new context of staffing shortages, delayed care, and hybrid virtual and in-person care.
I led a team of six, including one external consultant, through the research, design, and implementation of a workshop for over 60 health system leaders on Rebuilding Ambulatory Care: “Back to the Basics” in a COVID-endemic World.
I conducted a landscape assessment to understand how COVID-19 impacted hospital operations around the country.
My desk research informed a series of generative discussions I led with a focus group of 8 medical directors, CEOs, Chief Quality Officers, and other hospital leaders across the state. I presented my findings to my organization's Board of Directors to validate my findings and generate program ideas.
With support from the focus group, the team developed a survey to ask hospital systems about their department structures and processes and how they have evolved as a result of the pandemic. We used the survey results to inform the agenda and identify "bright spots" to showcase in the sessions.
Health system leaders articulated a need to revisit “foundational” primary and ambulatory care topics, for example: the core structures, processes, and teams that make up high-functioning departments
- but in a new context of COVID-19.
I facilitated a series of design sessions with my team and invited the leads from other work streams (e.g., telehealth, workforce) to discuss how our content intersected.
We landed on an in-person workshop focusing on three key domains of ambulatory and primary care:
The makeup of nurses, medical assistants, physicians, and other staff on clinical teams and their respective scopes of practice.
The process of “assigning” patients to providers and care teams to improve the continuity of care; ensuring that the number of patients on each panel remains manageable by the responsible care team.
Structures, processes, and tools for scheduling appointments that ensure that patients have access to care when they want it.
At the workshop, we imagined what a COVID-endemic world could look like…
The work is never over.
Public hospital systems have been working on these topics for years, suggesting that the work is evolving and requires continual upkeep to be resilient to disruptions like COVID-19.
In the evaluation, participants shared that the workshop was well organized, timely, interactive, and “a great opportunity to connect with others and share resources” and rated the meeting 4.7/5.
