The Power of Peers: Photos from the 2019 WPCC Learning Symposium
Recently, NCACH hosted its second annual Whole Person Care Collaborative (WPCC) Learning Community Symposium. Designed for WPCC provider organization care teams, the Symposium brings together subject matter experts and local providers to enhance quality of care through team-based care delivery. The approach is integrated, meaning that both physical and behavioral health providers, as well as frontline staff and social support agencies, can come together to help deliver the best care possible to their clients.This year's event focused on Population Health Management and brought together nearly 100 partners, representing 14 organizations and three Managed Care Organizations, from across the four-county region.
Some of the care teams from Confluence Health at the Symposium. Each of the care teams have been participating in quality improvement activities with NCACH since 2017, when the Whole Person Care Collaborative launched. While the original goal of the WPCC was to help clinical teams build the capacity they needed to increase quality of care delivery and meet Medicaid Transformation Project metrics, the skills that the teams are learning will create a legacy of improved care, with streamlined processes to enhance patient experience, improve quality of care, and support providers.
The morning started off with a series of plenary speakers discussing team-based care and population health management models, including hearing from local partners, Catholic Charities and Columbia Basin Health Association. 
Faculty and guest presenters speak about population health management and quality improvement efforts. 
NCACH's Practice Transformation Coach, Mariah Brown, pictured with partners with Catholic Charities. 
Partners from Family Health Centers take a moment to reflect and share. 
While the content was curated based on provider needs, attendees overwhelmingly expressed how important it was for them to be able to join other teams from across the region and learn from one another. The WPCC framework is based on peer collaboration. It recognizes that each care team (even from the same organization) may be in a different place on the spectrum of team-based care delivery, and allows participants to build and draw inspiration from one another.A part of this shared learning included asking each of the participating organizations to complete a storyboard of their team's process: highlights, successes, challenges, and goals.
Some of the team storyboards at the event. Above - Coulee Medical Center's care team stands in front of their storyboard, which was pinned on a woolen trading blanket, an important cultural icon for many American Indian Tribes. Participants were asked to study each of the storyboards with a short scavenger hunt activity, and nominate a recipient for a 'People's Choice Award' for their favorite storyboard.
The Center for Alcohol and Drug Treatment was selected as the recipient of the People's Choice Award for their storyboard. Their storyboard highlighted the services they provide, their committed staff, and accomplishments in the past year - including implementation of PHQ-9 screening (a mental health screening form that helps identify a patient's potential risk for self-harm), improved integration with primary care, and refined referral processes.
Above - The Center's CEO, Loretta Stover (center) accepts prize with NCACH staff members Teresa Davis (L) and Caroline Tillier (R). Below - Center staff, Paul Hadley (L) and Duane Duncan (R) pictured with the prize back at their office. (Photo shared by Loretta Stover.)Another memorable event from this year's Symposium was the inaugural performance from the 'Whole Person Care Collaborative Theater Troupe,' a group of faculty and NCACH staff moonlighting as amateur thespians. Led by WPCC faculty, Roger Chaufornier, starring as 'Aunt Tilly,' the performance followed an elderly woman as she navigates a visit to a care clinic.
The WPCC Theater Troupe (L-R): Caroline Tillier, Wendy Brzezny, Kathy Reims, Roger Chaufornier, Wendy Bradley, Cory Sevin, Linda Evans Parlette, and Connie Davis The skit follows 'Aunt Tilly' through two scenarios of the same visit, the point being to demonstrate what an effective team-based care visit could look like for patients with multiple needs.
Scenes from "Aunt Tilly."All in all, participants left feeling ready for the next chapter in the WPCC Learning Community -- a focus on population health, and how to implement those tactics into their care delivery models. The WPCC provider teams will be spending the next year exploring Population Health management, and applying those principles into their own organizations.In the words of our Executive Director, "Charge on!"
The 2nd Annual Whole Person Care Collaborative would not have been possible without:WPCC Faculty -- Kathy Reims, Roger Chaufornier, Connie Davis, Wendy Bradley, Cory Sevin, and the rest of the team at the Centre for Collaboration, Motivation, and Innovation and CSI Solutions.NCACH Staff -- Wendy Brzezny, Mariah Brown, Teresa Davis, and the rest of the team who helped the event go smoothly.A special thank you to the Wenatchee Convention Center for hosting us.And lastly, NCACH is grateful for our partnering providers, who remain committed to delivering excellent care and improving the health of the region. Thank you for your time, energy, and dedication to building a healthier North Central Washington. To learn more about the Whole Person Care Collaborative, please visit: https://ncach.org/wpcc/
