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Section 5. Help CAC members see their value

Recommended best practices are followed by suggestions and examples from CACs.

Make the connection between CCO leadership and the CAC visible and real. Ensure CCO leadership attends CAC meetings and two CAC members are serving on the CCO's board of directors. At least one of these CAC members must be a consumer.

  • Engage CCO leadership in CAC meetings:
    • Have CCO leadership attend meetings to listen and provide updates.
    • Host joint governing board-CAC retreats once a year to help build relationships between board members and CAC members.
    • Share a regional CAC report with the board annually.
    • Have CAC attend a CCO board meeting annually to give a presentation on its work.
  • Allow time for CAC updates and investments in community health improvement plan projects and outcomes at CCO board meetings.
  • Create a mechanism to bring concerns to the board:
    • Consider providing guidelines for sharing a consumer issue, a form to help identify issues, and a recommendation and concern form to be forwarded to the board.
    • Distribute issue briefs that local committees can complete and put forward to the regional CAC.
    • Collect questions and comments during CAC meetings from other CAC members to bring to their governing board meeting.

CAC Best Practices Handbook contents

Handbook overview
  1. Establish a clear structure and guiding principles
  2. Recruit members to join the CAC
  3. Support CAC members to succeed
  4. Design engaging and effective CAC meetings
  5. Help CAC members see their value

Provide regular communication to the CAC about how their participation is benefiting the CCO and their fellow members.

  • Consider creating pilot project summaries to help the CAC better see how pilots are working to achieve outcomes identified in the community health improvement plan.
  • Have CCO staff report back to CACs on how their input helps resolve issues and improve quality and outcomes. For example, a quality manager reported to a CAC on the challenges around meeting the colorectal cancer screening metric. The CAC made suggestions on how to effectively outreach to members to encourage regular screenings.
  • Resource: PacificSource Central Oregon – List of CAC successes.

Provide opportunities for member input at meetings to allow everyone to contribute.

  • Build in time for questions and discussion after each agenda item and at the very end of the meeting.
  • Ensure any updates include an opportunity for questions, reflection and input.
  • Consider forming subcommittees to allow CAC members to work in smaller groups, and share feedback with the larger CAC.
  • Provide multiple opportunities for feedback, including round-robin share outs and “fist to five" voting.

Develop processes to keep members meaningfully engaged.

  • Community Health Assessments (CHAs) and Community Health Improvement Plans (CHPs):
    • Use work groups or subcommittees focused on specific, measurable items that members can accomplish, as ways for members to dive more deeply as desired and feasible. Recognize that some members will have time to be more involved in the work, and others may need to be in an advisory role.
      • Establish subcommittees with topics such as data, lived experience, community engagement, and equity to help develop the CHA. CAC members can participate in these CHA subcommittees.
      • Have your CCO's CAC members review one priority goal of their CHP each meeting by breaking into small discussion groups.
    • Seek input from the CAC on community engagement strategies, in developing assessments and/or on a draft versions of the CHA and CHP.
      • Example: Have your CCO lead the CHA steering committee through a health needs visioning exercise. Bring results draft to CAC for feedback.
    • Provide opportunities for CAC members to get involved in the CHA data collection process.
    • Involve the CAC in the process of funding CHP projects in the community.
    • Resource: Transformation Center CHA and CHP Training Webpage
  • Community-level Flexible Services Spending:
    • Involve the CAC in developing and releasing a request for proposals (RFP) to community-based organizations. CAC members can help define the award limit for funded projects, project scoring criteria and/or project priority areas.
    • Resource: How to Create a Rubric in Six Steps
  • Supporting Health for All through Reinvestment (SHARE)

Celebrate success!

  • Recognize members' contributions and involvement.
  • Provide professional development and training opportunities to keep members engaged and recognize their contributions.
  • Consider holding a celebration dinner with members of the board, clinical advisory panel, CAC and CCO staff. Everyone receives a small gift with the CCO logo on it (notebook, pens, umbrellas, etc.).
  • Resource: PacificSource Central Oregon – List of CAC successes