Building a Culture of Quality Improvement

A few weeks ago we highlighted the great work being done at St Christopher’s Inn, a substance abuse treatment facility that has been working with NIATx from the very beginning. Through the years they have built a culture of quality improvement at their agency. David Gerber, Director of Counseling and Shelter Services, says, “…it becomes a part of you. I can be having a casual conversation with an employee who will come up with an idea and I will say "Hey that sounds like a NIATx process improvement", and we will get to work on something.“

Another long time NIATx member, Denver Health, was featured in the January 23, 2012 edition of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly. Denver Health has used NIATx along with the Toyota LEAN philosophy to improve services throughout the organization. NIATx improvement projects have increased the 90-day retention rate in Denver Health’s methadone clinic; increased admissions of HIV clients to substance abuse treatment, and helped women in the detox unit get access to prenatal care.

Lisa Gawenus, Associate Director of Signal Behavioral Health, the managed services organization that distributes public addiction funding dollars in Colorado, said in the article, “A lot of times performance improvement can lead you into a quagmire of work, but [NIATx] is a data-driven method that's manageable. Denver Health has done really well in instituting a process improvement culture.”

Read more about Denver Health and their change projects to increase admissions of HIV positive patients and to help women in detox gain access to prenatal care.

How have you used the NIATx model to improve systems across your organization, beyond access to and retention in treatment?