Improving patient care by applying lean principles of continuous improvement and process redesign

Since 2005, Winona Health has been using lean principles to improve value to patients through examining and redesigning processes to increase efficiency and eliminate waste. Relatively new to healthcare, lean principles have been used to improve efficiency in American manufacturing for decades and in Japanese manufacturing organizations even longer.

"We embarked on this lean journey years ago because we knew that healthcare delivery systems have to change," said Rachelle Schultz, Winona Health president/CEO. "Change can be challenging-and exciting, and our staff has done, and continues to do, an incredible job in learning and applying lean principles to improve processes in every area."

To share experience and successful outcomes from these lean principles, Winona Health has been selected to host a two-day site visit for the Healthcare Value Network (HVN), on August 25 and 26, 2011. The HVN is made up of healthcare organizations from across North America all of which are incorporating lean principles for continuous systems improvement.

"Learning and implementing lean principles is an ongoing process," said Linda Wadewitz, director of Continuous Systems Improvement for Winona Health. "This site visit is a great opportunity to network with staff at other healthcare organizations equally committed to using lean philosophy and tools to improve value to patients."

Winona Health will focus on specific lean projects in several areas including Primary Care, Surgical and Specialty Care, Emergency Department and Inpatient (hospital) Care.

The visit will involve structured learning and interaction at the work site or "gemba" (a Japanese term for the place where the work is actually done). During the site visit, Winona Health staff will share their experience in designing and putting into practice lean management throughout a community healthcare system. The site visit is an opportunity for individuals and healthcare organizations to learn from each other, as well as assess and provide valuable feedback.

"Implementation of lean processes is an organization-wide initiative," said Schultz. Staff and physicians in every role are involved in learning, evaluating, teaching and presenting new processes and ideas."

To learn more about Winona Health, visit winonahealth.org.

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About Winona Health
Winona Health is a community-owned nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of the regional community. Winona Health meets the community's healthcare needs through its hospital, primary and specialty care clinics, long-term care, memory care and assisted living residences and home care and hospice services.

About Healthcare Value Leaders Network (HVLN)
HVLN is a partnership between the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) and the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value (TCHV). This relationship brings together two of the world's leaders in "lean thinking," with a combined 20 years of experience in lean implementation and education. Working in partnership allows LEI and the TCHV to leverage their unique perspectives and not-for-profit missions to accomplish a shared goal of fundamentally improving healthcare delivery through lean thinking.

Currently, HVLN has three networks, each made up of between 10 to 14 healthcare organizations from across North America all of which are on the lean journey. Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Vanguard, Seattle Children's, Kaiser Permanente, ThedaCare, Park Nicollet Health Services, and UCLA Health System are just a few of the distinguished members in the Healthcare Value Leaders Network.