A Long Way to Go

Oh, to Have a Mask, a Strong Vaccine, and a Proper Social Distance Against the Insidious Viruses of Hate, Prejudice, and Racism

As we draw to a close a year of quarantine, a year of courage, a year of sacrifice, a year of loss, and a year of change – I am once again reminded how far we have to go.

The Institute for High Quality Care (IHQC) abhors the harassment, incidences of hate, and acts of violence against Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). There is no place for the systemic plagues of violence, prejudice and racism.

IHQC believes in the power of improvement, knowledge, self-reflection, and change to support communities that are strong and safe and healthy. IHQC also believes in the strength of collaboration with our partners – health care delivery systems, clinics, community-based organizations, providers, staff, executives, leaders, member organizations, funders and foundations – to bring about change.

We stand with our AAPI colleagues, friends, families and communities to seek change and an end to these viruses of hate.

With our hopes for peace,
The team at IHQC

#StopAAPIHate

Bridget Hogan ColeA Long Way to Go
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Happy Holidays from IHQC!

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Please note that the IHQC offices will be minimally staffed between Monday, December 21, 2020 and Friday, January 1, 2021 in observance of the winter holiday season. We will return to normal operations on January 4, 2021.

Please direct all inquiries to info@ihqc.org during this time.

IHQCHappy Holidays from IHQC!
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Recognizing, Sharing and Creating Joy

As we welcome December 2020 and celebrate Giving Tuesday, I’ve spent some time considering and seeking joy in different ways. How can we recognize joy in this challenging year? How can we share joy at personal or professional levels? How might we help to create joy?

At IHQC, our mission is to build the capacity of our audiences – to increase the quality and accessibility of safety net healthcare. For me, anchoring on this mission, my joy professionally comes from those “aha” moments that I have witnessed with our audiences, alumni, and colleagues: when topics, resources, and skills we’ve shared are adopted and applied to the priority work for providers, leaders and staff, or when I hear about the great work they are doing and how something we shared helped them along the way. Many of us as capacity builders point to these moments with joy.

So today on Giving Tuesday – IHQC celebrates those “aha” moments and hopes to support another organization of advocates and capacity builders who bring skills and strengths to their communities of focus. IHQC has contributed to the California Black Women’s Health Project (CABWHP) – a statewide non-profit focused on “…improving the health of California’s 1.2 million Black women and girls through advocacy, education, outreach and policy.” For nearly thirty years, CABWHP has focused on how to build skills for personal health and advocacy for policy change – to address the disparities, injustice and inequities that impact black women’s physical and mental health.  Check them out at www.CABWHP.org. Thank you CABWHP for the important work you do!


On a personal note – with great JOY – the IHQC team announces the arrival of the newest member of the “family” – our Program Director Chris Hunt recently welcomed a new baby boy into his family. Everyone is home, healthy and settling into some much-deserved time together.

What are some of your moments of joy? Feel free to reach out and share!

Bridget Hogan ColeRecognizing, Sharing and Creating Joy
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Five Years Later – What I’ve Learned through IHQC

IHQC-2019-Headshots-KatBawden-21July 2020 marks the 5th anniversary of the creation of the Institute for High Quality Care – giving me a moment to pause and reflect on our work; on our alumni, partners, and supporters; and on what the spirit of IHQC truly is.

IHQC officially launched in July 2015 with the aim to support safety net healthcare, to translate improvement tools and techniques into accessible approaches for all roles in healthcare, and to build problems solvers.  For me, leading the creation and growth of IHQC; working with a team of brilliant, funny and passionate staff; collaborating with faculty, funders, and colleagues; and supporting the best in healthcare delivery – has been an honor, a challenge, and a joy.

IHQCFive Years Later – What I’ve Learned through IHQC
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Our Commitment to Improvement

“You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.”
~ Maya Angelou

At the Institute for High Quality Care (IHQC), we believe in the linkages between equity, social justice and health. We seek to invest time, to listen, and to support improvements where we can.

We believe in addressing the social determinants of health – so that we can better understand the upstream, the root causes, and make positive changes.  However, we consistently observe the repeated affronts to equity, social justice, and health. We witness communities of color experiencing the dual traumas of brutality and the COVID-19 pandemic.

We will not accept the status quo – to do so goes against the very heart of our work.

We believe in the power of holistic improvement thinking, in the need for self-reflection and assessment. It’s only through truly embracing the core tenets of improvement that we as a society can rise – that we can ultimately invoke and sustain meaningful change. 

Bridget Hogan ColeOur Commitment to Improvement
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Thursday Thoughts – Obtaining Feedback

Screen Shot 2020-05-21 at 16.17.14The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed us to quickly change our typical processes and day-to-day operations, but we also have opportunities to pioneer new operational approaches.   As we start to settle into a “new normal,” it is increasingly important to remember the voice of the “customer” – be it patient, staff, providers, partners, or the community at large – when deciding what changes to adopt, and identifying where continued improvement is needed.

Teresa HoferThursday Thoughts – Obtaining Feedback
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Thursday Thoughts – Taking Time to Reflect… to Stop and Smell the Roses

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Without question, each of us is experiencing some level of disruption to our professional and personal lives as a result of COVID-19. The demands on safety net health care staff have only been magnified with the required rapid response to patient needs, new workflows, personnel changes, and updated policies coming from their organizations and from government officials alike. This non-stop reactivity to the volume and frequency of change pushes us to operate in “survival mode,” and unfortunately puts us at high risk of burning out.

Teresa HoferThursday Thoughts – Taking Time to Reflect… to Stop and Smell the Roses
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Thursday Thoughts – Scope and Scale!

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The magnitude and speed of changes over the past month have been crucial and daunting. As the focus shifts to what’s next, our vision may be on a grand scope – getting everything back to “normal” – but our efforts need to be tempered with considerations about the overall scale of the next steps. What can be accomplished? By when? With what resources?

For this week’s Thursday Thoughts, we’re considering Scope and Scale  – how to scale our efforts; leverage small steps; and remember that with any change, those impacted may need more time to adjust.

Bridget Hogan ColeThursday Thoughts – Scope and Scale!
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Thursday Thoughts – Hitting ‘Pause’ and Putting a QI Project into Hibernation

Those involved in quality and practice transformation efforts have likely experienced times when they’ve needed to put an improvement project “on pause” as higher-priority issues surface. It can be challenging to both put a project on hold and restart a project after a hiatus – even if the project is only in “hibernation” for a couple of months. Many of you are currently experiencing this as you pause some QI and practice transformation efforts to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For those who are considering putting a planned or active improvement project on pause, there are a few resources you may find useful.

Chris HuntThursday Thoughts – Hitting ‘Pause’ and Putting a QI Project into Hibernation
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