The Institute Digest
Fall 2004 Issue 3

Institute receives $3.2 million grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Public Health Informatics Institute has been awarded a two-year, $3.2 million grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to advance public health practitioners' ability to strategically apply and manage information systems. The goal of the non-profit Institute is public health agencies' broad-based adoption of a collaborative approach to developing information systems.

ASTHO/APHL 2004 Annual Meetings: "Reducing Costs and Improving Outcomes in Public Health Information Technology"
Attend this concurrent session at the St. Paul, MN, meeting on Thursday, Sept. 30, 4:15 p.m., for an overview of the role of informatics in state public health departments and insight into the costs and benefits of implementing information technology in the public health laboratory. The session will detail funding challenges, levels of support needed for information technology activities, how IT systems can increase productivity and enhance operational efficiency in the laboratory, and the strategic advantage of collaboration. Speakers include Dave Ross, ScD, Institute Director; Steve Hinrichs, MD, Director, Nebraska State Public Health Laboratory; and Ralph Timperi, MPH, Director, Massachusetts State Laboratory Institute. Patina Zarcone, APHL, moderates.

Public health laboratories develop long-term LIMS strategies
The Public Health Informatics Institute, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), and 24 state and local public health laboratories this month launched the final phase of a project to provide public health laboratories and APHL with the information they need to develop their long-term strategies for laboratory information management systems (LIMS) solutions.

New Connections community of practice funded by HRSA
Connections, a community of practice launched this month as a "virtual" collaborative environment, encourages peer-to-peer interaction among public health practitioners to explore issues of information systems integration and share their most promising practices. Connections is a new initiative in the ongoing partnership between the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau (HRSA/MCHB) and the Public Health Informatics Institute.

DataSpeak Internet audioconference focuses on integrating child health information systems
This Dataspeak program, one of a series on maternal and child health data, provides an overview of HRSA/MCHB's activities to promote integrated child health information systems. Speakers from HRSA/MCHB, state agencies, and All Kids Count (a program of the Public Health Informatics Institute) discuss challenges and describe best practices among seven states funded by MCHB to integrate newborn screening information with other early childhood health information systems.

Institute to develop framework for assessing the value of systems integration
The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) has contracted with the Public Health Informatics Institute to develop a framework for assessing the value of linking newborn screening laboratory information management systems (LIMS) with child health information systems. The framework is anticipated to have further application in public health settings.

GSA MOBIS contract simplifies federal contracting with the Institute
The General Services Administration has awarded a contract to the Institute's umbrella organization (the Task Force for Child Survival and Development) under the Management, Organizational and Business Improvement Services (MOBIS) schedule. This contract allows the Institute to provide services to federal agencies in a timely and simplified process. Services under contract include consulting, facilitation, program integration, and project management.