Highlights

The Institute has Moved!

On April 1st, the Institute staff moved to new office space at 325 Swanton Way in Decatur, Georgia. Our parent organization, the Task Force for Child Survival and Development, purchased this building to house our growing team, as well as the full complement of program staff that are a part of the Task Force.

The new building offers more in-house capability to host workgroup meetings and trainings on-site, with fully equipped conference and meeting space. Our new space is just around the corner from the old office building, so we are still just a few minutes away from CDC and our colleagues at Emory University. Please note our new address: 325 Swanton Way, Decatur, Georgia 30030. Our phone numbers and email addresses remain the same.

Business Case Model for Integrating Child Health Information Systems - Training Opportunity

The Business Case Model for Integrating Child Health Information Systems is a powerful Excel-based tool designed to provide a detailed picture of the specific costs and benefits related to the integration of health information systems.  It can help public health professionals, researchers, and policy makers to build a clear business case for integrating child health information systems (CHIS). Only trained participants will be given access to the model. Over the next few months, the Institute will present training sessions on Version 2.0 of the model. Click here to read more about the Business Case Model and click here to register for an upcoming training session.The next training session is scheduled for May 13, 2008.

The Business Case Model is provided through Connections, a Community of Practice supported through a cooperative agreement with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Seeking Common Ground

What are the tasks of the public health organization and who performs them? How can we perform those tasks better? Do we need an information system to help us meet our goal? These are the questions that drive the agenda for the national program, Common Ground: Transforming Public Health Information Systems.This program is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  Read more about the Institute's approach to Requirements Development Methodology and the Common Ground program. The Institute has worked with state and local health departments to apply a collaborative approach to requirements development. For examples, download a copy of our publication, Taking Care of Business, or refer to our Laboratory Information Management Systems Requirements Development Documents here. For a program overview and recent highlights, download our fact sheet on Common Ground.

HIEs and Public Health: A Healthy Partnership

Knowledge of disease trends and other threats to health within a community can influence medical care provider decisions and the advice given to patients.  Providers benefit from timely, population-based information - information that public health could provide in every community. As an active participant in health information exchanges (HIEs), public health has an opportunity to fulfill this role. Released in Summer 2007, this publication builds upon the work of Information Links, a national grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Click here to learn more about the five worthy aims for public health as an active partner in the HIE.

Sharing Stories of Progress and Success

Here is a summary of upcoming speaking engagements and conferences. At some of these events, Institute staff will present research findings and provide information our national programs and initiatives.