Brief Summary of the RDH Retreat



Sorting out pre-retreat logistics with Alice, my co-planner 

Nana Asare - Ford School of Public Policy

Due to an unplanned ministry of health evaluation at the Ruli District Hospital, the 2017 RDH retreat was almost pushed back. This would have been the second time the retreat was delayed, putting my summer of hard work in jeopardy. However, with the stellar help of my co-planner (Alice) and the TIP country director (Delphine), we were able to negotiate and keep the retreat going as planned. The planning process largely focused on building on and tailoring the work of the University of Michigan's Ross School BA 685 team's work to the expectations of the RDH hospital. Since the majority of the hospital staff aren’t fluent in English, Alice and I put in a lot of effort to developing a teamwork approach in delivering our retreat exercises. Specifically, I’ll start and explain each section in English and she’ll follow up with the French or Kinyarwanda translation when necessary.

The retreat was structured in three phases and scheduled for 3-days with each day dedicated to a different aspect of the strategic plan. Below is a summary of the three phases;

•       Phase one of the retreat was dedicated to a recap of the 2016 Ruli District Hospital retreat, reports of 5 pilot projects developed during that retreat and a visioning exercise for the 2017 retreat.
•       Phase two was a SWOT Analysis segment conducted with the WHO’s health systems framework guidelines (Building Blocks). The six building blocks were connected to the main departments of the RDH in efforts to turn the negatives affecting quality health service delivery into positives to promote health.
•       Phase three was a Stakeholder Analysis and S.M.A.R.T Goal Setting workshop structured to develop goals to be achieved through the RDH’s 5-year Strategic Plan.

RDH staff and Admins brainstorming S.M.A.R.T Goals

The retreat was attended by the Administration members and department heads of the hospital. The key purpose of the retreat was to focus on a 5-year strategic plan regarding the processes, skills, and the hospital’s future goals. Furthermore, the retreat served as a platform for a successful dialogue between the administrators and department heads.

During the retreat, we didn’t encounter many issues besides occasional participant lateness and delays. The retreat as whole was a huge success for the hospital as everyone finally felt that they were on the same page in the next steps for the hospital. The hospital employees felt at ease and were able to specifically voice out their opinions which was great because “critiques” of leadership isn’t really part of the work culture at the RDH. Additionally, the outcomes of the retreat set the tone for the next steps of the strategic plan, which involves action planning and implementation.

Jotting down notes during our S.W.O.T Analysis exercise

On a personal note, I was very satisfied with the retreat. There were several times when I didn’t feel confident that it was going to go as planned because the hospital wasn’t as forthcoming and involved as I hoped. However, during the retreat, everyone was thoroughly engaged in the exercises and offered feedback to make the event fruitful. Moreover, my co-planner was excellent to work with and although her time at TIP has ended, she helped me transition in the new B.A Liaison in following up with the retreat and setting up the necessary steps for TIP’s health systems management program.