"I made pizza deliveries [to homes] where I used to make house calls." (Lou Ortenzio, former trusted West Virginia physician) Beginning in the 1980s, well-meaning physicians across the country overprescribed opioid painkillers. They believed they were doing the right thing. They believed they were helping to relieve their patients from the pain of a tooth extraction, recovery from surgery, an aching overworked back, a sports injury, terminal…

The Region 5 Comprehensive Center along with state leaders in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia has been working to develop and implement Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) to inform improvement initiatives with an organized approach. This blog provides an overview of Step 8 in the 8-step NIC process, sustaining a continuous improvement culture. You may also access ready-made facilitator resources on the NIC website.  …

Although the Region 5 Comprehensive Center (R5CC) supports projects that address state-specific education needs, stakeholders in all four states in Region 5 often grapple with similar challenges. They also have unique and often innovative ways of overcoming the challenges.   In an effort to highlight some of the strategies state education leaders use (or plan to use) to address education needs that are common across the region, the R5CC team…

The Region 5 Comprehensive Center (R5CC) along with state leaders in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia has been working to develop and implement Networked Improvement Communities (NIC) to inform improvement initiatives with an organized approach. This blog provides an overview of Step 4 in the 8-step NIC process, conducting a root cause analysis. You may also access ready-made facilitator resources on the NIC website. A root…

“You can’t solve a problem until you are asking the right questions.” – Albert Einstein   The Region 5 Comprehensive Center along with state leaders in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia has been working to develop and implement Networked Improvement Communities (NIC) to inform improvement initiatives with an organized approach. This blog provides an overview of Step 3 in the 8-step NIC process, developing a well-specified…