Measuring programattic $ucce$$

Health education and promotion program planning models have evolved over the past 60 years and transformed  into responses for new program purposes, perspectives, and partners. The generic process of needs and asset assessments is necessary but no longer sufficient for program success – particularly in a context where economic concerns are expected to remain paramount. This presentation is about lessons learned from the experience of a large community based not for profit hospital that participated in a federally funded lung cancer screening program based on the traditional program planning model, but switched to a more business–oriented approach. The planning team includes the Thoracic Surgery Department medical/administrative personnel, a public health education specialist program coordinator, hospital public relations specialists,and business administrators. The program planning model was modified to incorporate principles of founding and sustaining a new business – a new perspective for the planning team members – and efficient fiscal management. This approach accommodates the hospital’s two primary concerns: providing quality health care, and maximizing return on investment by reducing costs and increasing income. In this session the project coordinator will demonstrate how seeing a health education project as a business venture, and seeing return on investment from a business as well as health education perspective is critical to successful health education and promotion programming. Skills such as developing and justifying comprehensive program budgets, projecting and tracking income and expenses, as well as defining non-traditional measures for showing a profit will be described and resources provided.