Welcome and Introductions

A View From the Top

July 30th, 2024

I live part-time a few blocks from the Empire State building. Down on the sidewalks of the city you are always walking under scaffolding, being routed around construction sites, and turning the corner to find a few building going up. In the chaos and bustle of every day, the path of change is cluttered, loud, and sometimes even invisible. But take the elevator up on 20 W. 34th Street and the old photos from the top of the Empire State Building that line the halls and viewing area illustrate the evolution of the city in a way that nothing else can.

Like anything worth building, an overall view provides us with a better perspective on where we are going.  Stepping back from our work to view the changes we have made is an important part of cultivating growth and improving our efforts. Hence the name of this blog.

The aim of this blog is be the platform from which you can take a broad view across the Washington State Health Care ecosystem and learn how your work fits in with other Bree Collaborative efforts going on. We will talk about successful implementations of Bree Collaborative Guidelines, introduce new evaluation tools, discuss other aligned initiatives, and highlight upcoming evaluation work.

Over the years since its inception, the Bree has produced guidelines on over 40 different topics. In 2023 we began to take this small collection of work and arranging it into broader categories. We identified three pillars of systems transformation – Patient-centered, holistic care, data transparency, and equity – that can guide us in creating a system that is more like a city than a disparate collection of buildings. Like any city, what makes an environment livable is when it is person-centered, when information is clear, when you can move easily from one part to another, and when access to infrastructure and services is equitable for all. This is what we aim to construct, piece by piece, through a process of health care community collaboration.

Karie Nicholas, M.A., G. Dip., Evaluation and Measurement Manager