226751 Exploring shared service collaboration in Wisconsin

Monday, November 8, 2010

Kate Konkle, MPH , Population Health Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Nancy Young, MPA , Insitute for Wisconsin's Health, Inc, Madison, WI
Seth L. Foldy, MD, MPH , Department of Health Services, State of Wisconsin Division of Public Heatlh, Madison, WI
Mary Jo Knobloch, MPH, CPH , Institute for Wisconsin's Health, Inc., Madison, WI
Shared service collaboration – the idea of two or more local public health agencies (LPHAs) pooling resources through formal or informal agreements to increase capacity and provide better service delivery – is a topic of growing interest in Wisconsin. Forces driving the discussion of shared services include economics, growing acceptance of a public health essential services framework, and emerging national voluntary accreditation. These forces are creating a push in many states to explore ways in which LPHAs, especially smaller ones, can work together to increase capacity.

Wisconsin is a home-rule state with 92 LPHAs and 11 tribal health agencies. All LPHAs currently participate in collaborative efforts, though level of participation and type of collaborations vary greatly. Based on this experience and a literature review Wisconsin undertook a process in the spring/summer of 2009 to further explore factors that could make shared service collaboration successful in the future. This was a joint effort between the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards, LPHAs, the Wisconsin Division of Public Health (WDPH) and the Institute for Wisconsin's Health, Inc.

The process resulted in a set of guiding principles that will be used in the future. The process and principles may also serve as a guide or discussion starter for other states or groups looking for ways to increase capacity and improve service delivery through collaboration.

Learning Areas:
Public health administration or related administration
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe driving forces behind exploration of shared service collaboartion in Wisconsin 2. Describe process used to explore factors that could make shared service collaboration successful in the future 3. Discuss outcomes of the process and next steps for moving collabortive efforts forward.

Keywords: Essential Public Health Services, Health Departments

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I authored the literature review and participated in the activities that explored shared services in Wisconsin. I worked in a state health department regional office where many discussions to begin exploring this as an option took place, and have been assisting local health departments with accreditation preparation for two years, with shared services being a topic of interest among many of them.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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