Partners For Kids would like to recognize Muskingum Behavioral Health for their commitment to enhancing quality in the behavioral health field. Yolanda Taylor, the Chief Operating Officer of Muskingum Behavioral Health, highlights their overarching goal for quality improvement: “Constantly striving to improve our effectiveness and efficiencies of our services to benefit our clients and staff alike. Muskingum Behavioral Health sets high standards and continuously strives to refine our approach to support the well-being and recovery of those we serve, making sure our practices meet our client’s and community’s needs and expectations, and creating a supportive work environment for staff.” This dedication to high standards and continual growth is evident through their collaboration on two quality improvement measures with Partners for Kids:
- Increasing Patient Engagement in Psychosocial Services: In December 2023, Muskingum Behavioral Health launched a quality improvement initiative with the PFK Quality Improvement Coaching Program. This project focuses on boosting patient engagement in psychosocial services. They have adopted the IHI (Institute of Healthcare Improvement) Model for Improvement methodology, considering the scope of a test when introducing new interventions to their organization. Immediate actions include re-establishing family and youth engagement activities, educating MBH staff on the importance of the quality improvement project, and hiring a Youth and Family Care Coordinator to address barriers to care. For interventions requiring more buy-in, they have used the PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) model to test change ideas in various settings before broad implementation. Specifically, in transitioning to a central scheduling process for their clients, they started with one appointment type to test their new process on a small scale. From this initial change test, they collected feedback from clients and staff to make relevant adaptations to the process before scaling up additional appointment types. Muskingum Behavioral Health highlights how utilizing quality improvement methodology to engage staff and clients in the process by “actively seeking their feedback has provided us with real-time insights, allowing us to make adjustments that truly reflect their needs. This ongoing dialogue has strengthened trust and fostered a collaborative environment.”
- Improving Behavioral Health Emergency Department Follow-Up Rates: Yolanda Taylor has been an influential member of the Southeast Central Regional Behavioral Health Improvement Team for the Outcomes Acceleration for Kids Learning Network. This work group aims to improve follow-up rates for children on Medicaid who visit the emergency department for behavioral health concerns. The Muskingum Behavioral Health team is providing valuable feedback, which involves using discharge notification platforms to identify clients in need of follow-up care.
When asked what “lesson learned” Muskingum Behavioral Health would want to share with other behavioral health organizations through their participation in a quality improvement project, they encouraged others to be patient and persistent. Yolanda said, “In this fast-paced behavioral health environment, it is important to understand that effective change does not happen overnight; it requires time, commitment, and faith in the process. Prioritizing our client’s needs and making sure our staff feels supported has been crucial in making positive changes and working toward achieving our goal.”
If you would like to learn more or get involved in the Partners For Kids Quality Improvement Coaching Program, please contact PFKQICoaching@NationwideChildrens.org.