One of the key elements of our Strategic Plan is to “Build Public Health Value.” One of the best ways to do that is to tell good stories that capture people’s attention and imagination- stories that highlight the value of public health.  During our Division of Licensing’s employee recognition event last week, Larry Martens read a perfect example of how to “Tell the Public Health Story.”

The story captures the essence of what licensing does every day and the type of peace of mind that Arizona families have, knowing we provide a safety net of services that helps families ensure that their loved ones are being properly cared for.   Often we couch our messages in technical reports that show data driven results, or create fact sheets to effectively communicate to a given audience- but telling a story that references real people can be more impactful.

Check out Larry’s story on our Managing for Excellence website.  It is a great example of our Strategic Map at work.  In this story, we see how this licensing program is Building Public Health Value (box D1), as well as Addressing Quality of Care Issues and Public Health Risks (box C2) and Providing a Safety Net of Services and Community Support (box C4).  It makes us proud of being public health professionals when we see the upside of how we make a difference, and stories like these also help build our credibility in the community.