NIATX Opiate Treatment Program Call in June 23, 2010 Tami Bahr, LCSW, CSAC, ICS Assistant Director Connections Counseling

PDSA – Increase Group Attendance Executive Sponsor identified this goal Change Team Brainstormed Ideas Came up with a variety of ideas to test Reminder calls, survey group, text messages, reminder cards Decided to try reminder cards for groups Required minimal amount of staff time & monetary investment All staff could participate

Data Collection & Results Utilized group rosters to identify who is supposed to attend group and who actually attended Collected baseline data for one month on all groups (18/week) Implemented reminder cards & collected data for one month on all groups (18/week)

Change Project Results Group Reminder cards given to all clients enrolled in group

Strategic Advantage Staff participation in groups is a fixed number 2 staff per group Increase in group attendance = Increase in direct revenue There is no additional cost to the clinic Increased attendance also = Increased opportunities for clients to connect

Sustainability Plan Feedback from clients Reminder cards were “overkill” for clients who attend consistently Reminder cards were helpful for new clients Feedback from staff Reminder cards were useful for clients who were inconsistent Changed protocol to incorporate feedback All new clients get group reminder cards for 1 st mo Therapists use discretion to give reminder cards to inconsistent clients

Lessons Learned/Considerations Group culture varied and may have impacted results Some groups had high attendance rates for baseline and change project Other factors may have impacted attendance Baseline group was in October Change project was in November (weather worsened) Clients may have wanted to attend group and remembered to attend but had other barriers to get there Tracking data on 18 groups is a little overwhelming Future change projects should explore these issues

Tami Bahr, LCSW, CSAC, ICS Connections Counseling 1334 Applegate Road, Suite 101 Madison, WI Phone: (608) ext 23 Fax: (608)