Message from the Chair

Message from the Executive Director

Finance Committee Report

Joint Quality Improvement and Program Committee Report

CCI Partners 2002-2003

Message from the Executive Director
Mark Langlais

Every year is filled with new and different challenges. Some challenges excite and stimulate staff and result in better patient services, while other challenges stress and strain agency resources. Fiscal year 2003 had its share of excitement and stresses, and I am convinced that we made advances in our effort to improve the quality of care. High on the list was the preparation for and the implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). As the deadline for the privacy section of the act approached, staff responded by crafting new privacy policies and documents to comply with the law. The agency appointed a Privacy Officer who conducted training and made certain the new guidelines were implemented at each CCI center before the April deadline. The agency’s website was upgraded to include HIPAA notification in both English and Spanish. Although expensive, time consuming, and complicated to implement, HIPAA enhances patient confidentiality, and requires that patients be involved in decisions about who has access to their medical records. What at first appeared to be another bureaucratic exercise turned out to be a worthwhile effort.

After a year of planning, the WIC program implemented its much-anticipated new computer management information system (WICWINS). The new computer system changed how staff worked and allowed for more emphasis on nutrition education. Staff are now free from most of the monotonous paperwork previously required to enroll or re-certify recipients, and have more time to answer questions. CCI-WIC continued its growth in the number of people enrolled in the program, and now, with more than 17,000 participants, ranks as the largest WIC agency in the State of Maryland. In response to this growth, CCI-WIC relocated its Silver Spring center to a larger and more modern location in Aspen Hill. This new location is more convenient to the women and children who live in the Rockville/Olney area offering expanded access to even more potential consumers.
Consumer input is extremely important to the quality improvement process adopted by CCI’s Board of Directors and management team. This past year, both health service and WIC consumers tested a new satisfaction survey that will be used this year. Consumers at all CCI locations participated in a focused survey regarding hours of operation and waiting time, resulting in an additional Saturday morning session for health services patients at the Takoma Park center. CCI’s Board continued its successful strategy to recruit consumers who use WIC and health services as Directors on the Board, strengthening the Board’s diversity, cultural competency, and community-based foundation.

Access for all, quality health services, and respect for patients and participants are key elements of CCI’s longstanding mission. At CCI, we strive to incorporate these elements into our strategic planning and service delivery. We recognize that as an agency committed to high standards, we will always encounter opportunities to make improvements. CCI welcomes these challenges as we work to realize our vision “Every child and adult deserves a healthy start and everyone deserves a healthful life.”