Quality management in a school-based nursing center: program development and implementation

As community-based health care services continue to grow, quality management programs for new, nontraditional settings are being developed. The article describes a quality management program implemented in a nursing center in an urban, multicultural high school. The three components of the program--formulation of the quality management plan, the development of written structure, process, and outcome standards, and the development of a monitoring and evaluation plan--are summarized. The application of the principles and practices of quality management to a school-based nursing center has provided challenges, opportunities, and rewards for all involved.