Collaboration and Strategic Restructuring
Small non-profit organizations face an array of challenges. Recently non-profit organizations in Los Angeles County have had the opportunity to explore collaborating with other organizations while being supported by experienced consultants. The work is made possible through grants from the Non-Profit Sustainability Initiative (NSI is a program of the California Community Foundation and several other funders), to explore new ways of working together to become more effective, efficient, and sustainable. Green Management Consulting Group, Inc. has been selected as one of the pre-authorized, highly experienced consulting teams by NSI. Through our experience in working with a broad array of organizations, we are able to facilitate and sometimes de-escalate complex conversations, and provide analytical tools and approaches to enhance the process.
GMCG works with organizations to explore a broad continuum of collaborative options, from low levels of integration such as shared services to more highly-integrated options of acquisition and or merger. Our facilitative and analytical processes help non-profit partners to investigate all facets of potential collaboration from development of shared objectives to assessing operational, financial, and personnel considerations. Our highly experienced team includes Dr. Robert Sniderman, a recognized Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness specialist. Additionally, NSI support of collaboratives has been augmented by its strategic alliance with Public Counsel, potentially providing access to legal expertise on specific technical issues.
Clients:
- Dance Resource Center and Pentacle
- Wolf Connection and Street Poets
- The eight participating Federally Qualified Health Centers of the Southside Coalition: Central City Community Health Center, Eisner Pediatric & Family Medical Center, South Bay Family Health Care, South Central Family Health Center, St. John’s Well Child and Family Center, T.H.E. Health and Wellness Centers, UMMA Community Clinic, and Watts Healthcare Corporation.
- The founding eight members of the newly formed Chamber Music LA: Camerata Pacifica, Da Camera, The Colburn School, Jacaranda, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Musica Angelica, Pittance, and Salastina.
- Long Beach Safety Net Collaborative comprised of: Mental Health America of Los Angeles, The Children’s Clinic, Pacific Asian Counseling Center, Century Villages, The Guidance Center, For the Child
- House of Ruth and Deep Green Housing
Strategic Planning and Business Planning
“Competitive strategy is about being different. It means deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value.” Michael Porter HBR November 2006.
While some believe Operational Improvement alone is sufficient- we at GMCG do not. The development of your 3- to 5-year strategy sets the direction for the organization vis-à-vis the competition and specific external conditions. Understanding the marketplace and competition allows for clarifying strategy. For example:
- Do we aim to offer the most variety or the best price?
- Are we focused on customers in a specific geography or do we have differentiating capabilities in being able to meet the need of specific demographic segments
The development of the Strategic Plan drives decision-making around objectives and action plans for the entire organization. The components of the plan can vary by industry or by the promulgating circumstances, but generally include some subset of the following:
- Market and Competitive Analysis
- Stakeholder Analysis
- SWOT Analysis
- Market Plan
- Capital Plan
- Quality Plan (if appropriate)
- Financial Plan
- Human Resources Plan
- Information Technology Plan
Operations Improvement
A core component of Green Management Consulting Group’s practice is centered on helping clients to attain operational improvements. GMCG has had the privilege of working with organizations of widely varying scale—from individual non-profit organizations and community clinics to major health systems.
Operational Improvement Expertise
- Quality Improvement
- Process Improvement
- Inventory Management
- Labor and Asset Optimization
Our Projects and Clients:
- Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LAC DHS)-
Supporting the establishment of 20 Specialty-Primary Care work teams which implemented the eConsult system for faster, better disposition of specialty requests and Expected Practices which set expectations for consistent clinical practice in primary and specialty care across the county. - LAC DHS
Development and the population of a dashboard of key performance metrics. Helping this safety net system to respond to early findings in performance variability and to address data deficits as it works towards deeper integration of services. - Federally Qualified Health Centers (FHQCs)
Coaching dozens of FHQC clients to increase organizational capacity to incorporate quality improvement in addressing specific operational challenges. This work was organized and supported as a part of two major initiatives created by the now Institute for High Quality Care (IHQC). Work with individual FHQCs has included: addressing patient backlog and cycle time, developing patient outreach plans, improving adherence to mandatory reporting requirements, improving patient referral processing, and developing staff training materials in quality improvement methods. - Cedars-Sinai Medical Group
Implementation of the Patient Centered Medical Home- GMCG worked closely with our client to establish standard processes and workflows for the medical assistant staff. When implemented, all staff were able to perform to the top of their license, reducing demand on the most expensive resource, the physicians. - JWCH and Los Angeles County
Develop an Integrated Delivery System among several different types of service providers (primary care, mental health, TB care, HIV care) and among County and non-County entities. The work undertaken established a coordinating body for health in the Skid Row LA area. The new entity would be responsible for:- facilitating access to all health-related services,
- resource development for expanding health services for the homeless,
- training and technical assistance to human services providers on all matters pertaining to health and mental health care, and
- quality enhancement and assurance measures,
- Research and evaluation.
- Kaiser Permanente Georgia Region
Reviewed detailed patient billing by local hospitals to better understand both the nature and timing of member charges. Drove changes to hours of operation and member messaging.
Technology Supported Quality Improvement
“Improving the U.S. health care system requires simultaneous pursuit of three aims: improving the experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing per capita costs of health care. Preconditions for this include the enrollment of an identified population, a commitment to universality for its members, and the existence of an organization (an “integrator”) that accepts responsibility for all three aims for that population. The integrator’s role includes at least five components: partnership with individuals and families, redesign of primary care, population health management, financial management, and macro system integration.” Donald Berwick, Health Affairs, May/June 2008.
- For the past 13 years, GMCG has served as one of the select consulting groups working with California safety net healthcare organizations to teach, coach and support the development of their Quality Improvement function. GMCG accomplished this by enhancing their ability to create sustainable change through quality improvement initiatives. Green Management Consulting staff coached clients on elements of the Triple Aim, communications, organization effectiveness, meeting management and facilitation and data analysis.
- Much of our work has been undertaken through the Building Community Capacity through Quality (BCCQ) initiative and in support of the Institute for High Quality Care (IHQC). Through BCCQ, IHQC, and on its own, Green Management Consulting Group has worked with more than 20 Community Health Centers. Our total community clinic clients include:
- ChapCare
- Camino
- Eisner Health
- South Central Family Health Center
- St. Johns Well Child and Family Center
- To Help Everyone Health and Wellness Centers
- Imperial
- Mountain
- San Diego Family
- San Ysidro
- Share Ourselves
- Valley Community Healthcare
- East Valley Community Healthcare
- Central Neighborhood
- Clinical Oscar Romero
- VNCOC Asian Health Center
- Saban Community Clinic
- Friends of Family Health Center
Quality Management
In QI Functional Analysis work led by Dr. Joel Hyatt, GMCG has undertaken the thorough evaluation of safety net organizations’ Quality Improvement Functions and Programs.
In this work we assess the capacity, impact, and range of projects undertaken by the Quality Improvement Department and Quality Improvement Committee of the Board of Directors.
Clients: Kaiser Permanente SCAL and Valley Community Healthcare
Elements in our evaluation include:
- Reporting: Assessing how efforts are tracked and progress reported.
- Metrics: Identifying metrics with reimbursement for reporting and performance and note identifying current gaps in performance.
- Effectiveness: Summarizing where past QI efforts have proven effective and where are improvements are required? GMCG provides benchmark data for key metrics.
- Staffing: Recommendations about staff skills required to support future efforts and to complement QI Director capabilities.
Facilities Planning
A common trap for users of physical space is to rush to define operational constraints in terms of spatial solutions. Deciding whether and when to invest in capital is complex and should analytical precursors before any drawings can commence. Even if a client is motivated to proceed with a planned construction project, GMCG will help to ensure that they have made a logically sound definition of the problem or the need driving the space. GMCG will next help the client to define all the functional requirements of the space. At GMCG, we do not focus simply on a single option, but work with our clients to consider a range of options, such as extended operational hours, phasing of the project, lease vs. buy, etc. We meet with our clients and the operational managers to specify both current and projected demand and expected changes in technology.
