Case studies of management innovation at primary care health centers

This article discusses the experiences of four individual health centers that participated in The Program to Strengthen Primary Care Health Centers. These centers were attempting "typical" initiatives, were considered highly likely to succeed, and were located in geographically diverse areas. Given these characteristics, it is likely that other centers could replicate their endeavors and could gain valuable knowledge from their implementation experiences. This article presents each center's characteristics, history, and mission; describes the environment in which the center operates; and discusses the barriers to implementation of selected innovations.