Population Health Months

Creating useful resources for our patients and stakeholders

Have you noticed a more clinical focus in Duffy Health Center’s communications this year? Largely driven by Emily Hildebrant, MS, Quality Improvement Manager, our team has taken a multi-channel approach to acknowledge nationally recognized population health months, both to highlight existing clinical and quality initatives and to educate our patients on important preventive health topics.

We know that this type of “homegrown” content is both relevant and useful to our patients. We all tune in a little more closely when we hear information from a trusted source. Monthly content is shared not only through eblasts and social media, but also on the Duffy website and on the television in our waiting room.

Clinical staff are also reminded of the monthly theme at their daily morning huddle, where they start each day. This helps them keep these initiatives top of mind as they move through the day seeing patients, encouraging them to perform routine preventive screenings. Below is a sampling of the content we have produced.

Medical Community Health Worker Denies SmithGrant oversees Duffy’s Self-Monitoring Blood Pressure program. Patients are provided with the tools needed to monitor their blood pressure at home, and they work closely with Denies as she leads them through a structured curriculum of lifestyle topics. The goals of the program are to improve access to care, to educate patients on wellness topics, and ultimately to improve patients’ heart health.

The addition of a gynecologist on staff - Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lisa Jones - has expanded Duffy patients’ access to reproductive health care, including routine screenings for cervical cancer. Access to an on-site specialist has increased care integration, providing patients who have built trusting relationships with members of our team to receive this specialized care in a place where they already feel safe.

Duffy patients in need of a colonoscopy are screened for factors that may impact their ability to complete the procedure. Do they have a safe place to prepare and recover? Do they have transportation and the required accompaniment to escort them after the procedure? We provide all of these resources to individuals who need them, so that no one misses a cancer screening due to socioeconomic factors.