It seems like everyone is interested in healthcare these days. With the cost of care growing so rapidly, it’s no wonder that this topic piques the interest of so many people, from politicians to employers to the “average” working Jane or Joe. While many people believe that healthcare in America needs changing, there are no easy solutions to this problem.

I recently attended a talk by MaryAnn Stump, the Chief Innovation Officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota on some ways her organization is empowering healthcare consumers. She presented two current projects, Healthcare Facts and The Healthcare Scoop; I found these fascinating as a healthcare consumer and as a public health professional.

Healthcare Facts are like a Nutrition Label for healthcare. They include objective information about hospitals and clinics, which allow consumers to compare apples to apples when choosing a hospital. The Healthcare Facts labels were developed using input from patients; they are easy to read and understand. At a glance, a healthcare consumer can see how many cancer cases were treated in the prior year, the number of nurses per patient and the percentage of beds with private rooms, among other indicators. Ms. Stump stressed that consumers are most interested in finding the best fit with their needs, which includes a combination of safety features, a good value and comfort features, such as a hospital’s religious affiliation, pain management program, free parking, etc.

The website, http://www.thehealthcarescoop.com/, is a forum for patients to share their healthcare experiences with others. Patients can find healthcare stories by topic area (pregnancy, emergency care, pediatric, etc.), by clinic or hospital or by health professional. Background research on this project showed that people were most likely to evaluate the quality of healthcare through word of mouth. However, people are much more likely to share an opinion on a healthcare experience with a friend or acquaintance verbally than to share the information online. The Healthcare scoop provides a forum for people to share their experiences online and since its inception in the fall of 2007, this website has had over 40,000 visits.

The talk by Ms. Stump was organized by the Minnesota Chapter of the Association of Strategic Planning. Throughout the year, they offer monthly breakfast programs and “jammin sessions,” which are a free-flowing exchange on emerging topics and trends of interest to planners.

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Monday morning I put my 11 year old on a Charter bus with 80 of his 6th grade classmates to start an exciting week-long learning trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. After our rough holidays of hospitals and surgeries we are very fortunate that he was able to go. I am excited for the marvels he will see and the important lessons he will learn such as, care of the environment and respect for nature. It is just these types of experiences that help our youth understand how important it is to care for the world around them. The following funder is giving young people the chance to get involved and show what they can do with the knowledge they’ve gained about the world they are stewards of.

This week’s pick: Burton Snowboards has a collaboration with Girl Overboard author Justina Chen Headley and Youth Venture. This group is offering the Go Overboard Challenge Grant Program for U. S. youth ages 12 to 20. They are challenging young people to bring the passion they feel for causes like the environment, global health or social and economic causes and to spearhead projects that will address problems in these areas.

The criteria is to create a team to address the work you would like to see done and then submit an application to be eligible for challenge grants of up to $1,000 each. Youth Venture staff can be contacted for help with the application. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis until May 1, 2008. To learn more click here.

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I have a good friend who is a single mom and her thirteen year old son is autistic. He is the ideal of what great things will happen when someone applies the attention, support, love and optimism that is needed when health and quality of life is a challenge. She amazes me in her devotion and her strength of character in all that she does to help her son be happy, strong and go after his dreams. I know he is going to do great things.

Another reminder of what it takes to serve others dealing with all manner of health conditions and bring dignity and hope is found in our work for the Minnesota Department of Human Services Waiver Review project. We talk to staff around our state that work very hard to make sure communities have the care and resources they need.

My pick for today is one that works to recognize and reward those who are quietly remarkable in the way they help others in their role as caregivers.

This week’s pick: The Caring Award for individuals is presented by The Caring Institute, a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1985 “to honor and promote the values of caring, integrity, and public service.” The Institute would like to recognize those who devote their lives to helping out the disadvantaged, poor, disabled and dying. Nominations for anyone ages 9 to 99 can be sent in before September 28, 2008. There is an online or printable form to use. A narrative on why this person is a noteworthy role model needs to be at least 500 words long. Letters of recommendation should also be included. Young adults who receive this award will be granted funds for college tuition and all recipients are flown to Washington D.C. for a special ceremony.

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I wanted to let you know about a presentation and panel discussion I will be involved in next week. If you are already signed up to attend, please be sure to stop and say hello! I will be showing as a design example the work I have done for The Improve Group along with some other examples of my web design work.

Event:
• Minnesota Council for NonProfits Conference - "Message + Medium + Message, Technology and Communications Conference."
• Thursday March 27th, at the Minneapolis Marriott Center.
• Conference details: http://www.mncn.org/techcommconf.htm

Presentation Details:

Early Afternoon Breakout Sessions from 1:45 - 3:00 p.m.
Strategic Web site Design: Once Again, Form Follows Function
Marketing/Communications
Whether your organization plans to update its current Web site or dive into a new project, developing a strategic plan for your project is critical to the success of your Web site. Too often, nonprofits forgo this important step assuming it’s too expensive and/or time-consuming, or their project is too small to really need a strategic plan. This session will demonstrate why this component of Web site development is so important, illustrate what it really takes to create a strategic plan, and help you understand how this process can help you visualize and implement a well-designed, effective and user-friendly Web site. Our panelists will also share ideas concerning how to improve your organization’s current Web site today.

K. Darby Laing, art director/Web site architect, LAINGdesign; Catherine Settanni, president, Settanni+Company; Anne Ulseth, Aqua Public Relations, and Mary Anne Welch, communications manager, Project for Pride in Living

Bio:
Darby Laing is a graphic artist with 14 years of experience and is the principal designer of LAINGdesign (www.laingdesign.com). Darby's focus is mindful, targeted, communication strategies with straightforward, clean design solutions. She is excels in partnering with her clients to design creative solutions for web sites, communication plans, and identity systems. Her clients include non-profit organizations and small to medium sized businesses.

After the presentation I will write a follow up blog entry to share insights gained from the panel discussion. It should be a really interesting discussion.

Thanks and hope to see you there!

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Last week I attended the Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute (MESI) Evaluation around the world and in your backyard: Strategies, Tips, & Techniques 2008 Conference. This was the first time I was able to attend the entire conference and learn more about evaluation from the best in the field. Speakers included well respected practitioners such as Michael Q. Patton, Ross Conner, Jennifer Greene and Richard Krueger, to name a few.

I was particularly struck by lessons from Professor Ross Conner’s opening presentation on Evaluation Around the World. He spoke to us about several countries around the world and how they used and valued evaluation. For example: Africa felt evaluation could “bring the sun in on what was happening in their country.” In the Middle East evaluation was used in a context of supporting diversity and inclusiveness. For Romania, the field of evaluation was aimed at accountability and transparency.

Another lecturer of note was Michael Quinn Patton, former president of the American Evaluation Association. In his response to Ross Conner’s talk he reflected on the use of evaluation as “a form of discourse and deliberation in democracy.” He noted the secrecy that has crept into our society and how evaluation can be a “fundamental means of connecting to a free flow of information.”

There was a great international mix of people attending the event with a large contingent from Norway. What was most inspiring about the sessions was the theme of a global, multi-cultural approach in how evaluations are formed. A lot of our conversation turned to ethics and how information is used with regard to a civil society.

Minnesota is well-known for its strength in the advancement of evaluation as an important organizational tool. Thank you to MESI for helping evaluators stay current and responsible in their practice by hosting informative conferences like this.

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As promised, here is the second Grant Gazing for this week. I just finished attending the Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute (MESI) Conference which had a global theme and reminded us that we are one planet, and people have connections that must be considered in all the work we do. I have been thinking about this message a great deal and I found it appropriate to offer a developing opportunity with a world view in this week’s blog.

This week’s pick: This initiative is still in formation but I felt it was of such importance I wanted to highlight it and make it a program to keep watch for. This month the Goldman Sachs Group, a NYSE investment company of New York, announced a global initiative to provide women in underserved and developing countries with a business management education. This effort, called 10,000 Women is aimed at opening doors for women around the world to be managers and business owners.

They are currently creating “partnerships between universities in the U.S. and Europe and business schools in emerging and developing economies to improve the quality and capacity of business education.” Goldman Sachs is committing $100 million to this initiative. Along with support through flexible short-term educational programs a select number of MBA and BA degrees will be granted. Watch for upcoming developments at the Goldman Sachs website.

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During the month of February, I took some time off from the Improve Group to work at my parents’ restaurant, The Golden Inn, in Superior, WI. I’ve been working at the restaurant every weekend over the past year and a half. The opportunity to assist my parents in running a small business while also participating in the fascinating projects at The Improve Group has been a unique experience.

During the month of February, I was able to spend every day working on the day-to-day operations of running a restaurant. I assisted in the financial matters of the restaurant (especially payroll administration) and working as a delivery man when business demanded it. During my childhood, I learned many parts of the restaurant trade working for my father’s restaurant in Duluth, MN. My month work at The Golden Inn re-emphasized many of same challenges I learned to address during my childhood: the long hours, the stressful environment, the budgetary challenges, etc. The ability to address these challenges allows me to gain unique experiences that are beneficial in both my personal and professional life.

However, I also had the chance to meet and work with great individuals each day. Whether it is old friends that regularly patronize The Golden Inn or hearing stories from the staff, I enjoyed their friendship and learning about their lives. Additionally, these relationships allow me to learn about the difficulties that many of these blue-collar individuals are facing in their lives, providing me a perspective of possible areas of evaluation that The Improve Group may want to pursue in the future. For example, this experience will be helpful in creating survey instruments that relate more closely to the experiences of low-income single mothers and in turn with provide data that will directly address their challenges.

In short, I appreciate the Improve Group granting me the opportunity to spend a month working at The Golden Inn. The experience will truly be beneficial in my approach in my work with the Improve Group. Which brings up an interesting question, how have your experiences outside your professional work influenced your professional work?

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Education Week has weekly chat sessions on topics of interest to educators. This week's chat, on social networking sites (Facebook, Myspace, etc.) and how they can be used to reach out to students and monitor behavior, caught my eye; I've been mulling around ideas for using social networking in evaluation.

The live chat will be broadcast tomorrow at noon central time (1:00 PM eastern). One of the panelists, Conn McCartan, is a Minnesota Principal who recently disciplined students related to online behavior.

If your organization has been thinking about the pros and cons of social networking, this might be a good resources.

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(My apologies - I was out at a conference last week so my Grant Gazings are a week behind. To make up for this I will post twice this week).

If you are a parent and you are anything like me you may worry about things long before it is necessary. Or maybe it wasn’t necessary at all. I look at my two young sons with their polar opposite personalities and I consider how those personalities will play into their teenage lives. One of my biggest worries comes out in - how they will handle being responsible drivers in the future? This one can keep me up at night. Although my oldest is still 11 I am already looking for articles, data and promising practices to improve outcomes for teen drivers: this is how I found today’s opportunity. I was even more pleased to see that one of the partners presenting this project, the National Youth Leadership Council, is a client of the Improve Group.

This week’s pick: State Farm and the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) are collaborating on Project Ignition for U.S. public school students enrolled in grades 9-12. This grant program aims to improve teen driver safety through public awareness and service-learning projects.

Twenty-five semi finalists and ten finalists will receive $2,000 and $5,000 awards, respectively. Applications are due by May 16, 2008 and more information can be accessed here. Oh and for those of you "mature" enough to remember the old Hill Street Blues television series, "Be careful out there."

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