(Me in front of the Clinch River)

My name is Mary Beth Cox and I am the Healthcare Transformation Specialist for the Virginia Community Healthcare Association. I am honored to be asked once again to share about our Association's commitment to helping Health Centers across Virginia achieve Patient Centered Medical Home transformation and recognition. The first time I blogged about our PCMH work was in September 2011. It is pretty amazing to look back on the journey we have taken just in the short time between then and now.

The flagship of our PCMH initiative has been a Learning Collaborative in which 11 Health Centers have been participating since September 2011. In the Learning Collaborative model, we plan a curriculum tailored to participants' needs, engage the services of expert consultants, provide monthly educational and peer learning opportunities, and help coach Health Centers through the process of developing and implementing new processes and policies.

Prior to the first Learning Collaborative meeting in November 2011, I set out to visit each participating Health Center, learn more about them and begin the PCMH conversation. It was a wonderful experience that I'll never forget. I loved driving off the beaten path, taking in Virginia's beautiful fall foliage, seeing signs for apple picking and receiving the famous Virginia hospitality. Most of all, it was a joy to meet the dedicated staff at our Health Centers.

Stay tune to my next post, where I will dive into our lessons learned thus far from the Learning Collaborative and helping Health Centers become medical homes!