Gary Larson – VP for Kaizen Promotion, Park Nicollet Health Services

Applying Kaizen at Park Nicollet Health Services

The presentation is focused on the actions taken at PNHS to implement Kaizen, including; a description of the infrastructure used to support Kaizen, examples of quality improvement projects and an open discussion of the challenges with implementing a system-wise cultural change such as required by Kaizen.

Gary has been employed with Park Nicollet Health Services for 10 years; most recently, as Vice President, Kaizen Promotion Office, previously as Vice President, Patient Financial Services.  He worked in finance and administration for Ecolab and Xerox before entering the healthcare industry.  Gary has a BA in Finance & Economics and a MBA from the University of Iowa.

Jeff Rich – Exec. Dir., Major Projects & Efficiency Improvement, Gunderson Lutheran Health System

Sustaining the Gains with Control Plans

Organizations commit significant resources toward process improvement projects.  It is only reasonable to expect that these investments yield sustained results.  However, in many cases, the improved performance does not stick.  This presentation will provide practical guidelines and techniques for creating successful control plans.  Several case studies will be shared.

Jeff began employment with Gundersen Lutheran in October 2006.  Prior to joining Gundersen Lutheran, Jeff spent 16 years in Manufacturing working for Trane and John Deere.  Jeff holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and is a certified Lean-Six Sigma Black Belt and Master Black Belt.  He is also a senior member of the American Society for Quality and an ASQ certified Quality Engineer.

Tonia Lauer – Administrator for Quality, Albert Lea Medical Center – Mayo Health System

Albert Lea Medical Center’s Journey Toward Lean

A broad overview of why Lean now, the process toward becoming Lean, and examples of projects.  Discussion will include the successes and the near-misses.

Tonia has worked with Albert Lea Medical Center for 25 years in a variety of positions beginning her healthcare career as administrative assistant to the CEO – later moving into Human Resources, Staff Development and Quality. In her current role she acts an internal consultant to the medical center in the areas of continuous improvement through use of the Baldrige Criteria for performance excellence and the spread of Lean as an organizational philosophy.

Brian Lassiter – President, Minnesota Council for Quality

Assessing and Achieving Excellence in Healthcare

Healthcare organizations are facing many challenges:  reimbursement, workforce shortages, a tight economy.  But -- with the complexity of organizations - where do you focus your Lean and other improvement efforts?  Mr. Lassiter will introduce a comprehensive organization assessment (revised in 2008) to help leaders identify and prioritize improvement opportunities, optimize resources and improve outcomes.

Brian was elected president of the Council in 2001, after spending time in financial services and consulting.  He served 11 years on the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.  He is Vice Chair of the Alliance for Performance Excellence, the national consortium of all state / local quality awards.

Dr. Kimberlee Snyder – Facilitator, Winona State University Healthcare Solutions

Standardized Work Simulation

Standard work is an agreed-upon set of work procedures that establish the best and most reliable methods for a process.  Continuous improvement depends upon indentifying, setting, and improving standards.  This session is a hands-on exercise where participants gain an understanding of the importance of developing standard steps, times and location to meet customer demand.

Lean 101

This session is for the beginner to the Lean improvement journey.  You will become familiar with the history, four cornerstones of the Toyota Production System (TPS) lean Model and discover basis Lean tools.

Dr. Kimberlee Snyder holds a Lean in Healthcare certification from the University of Michigan and is a Six Sigma Green Belt.  Her PhD is in Business Administration, Operations Management major and Industrial Engineering minor from New Mexico State University.  She teaches undergraduate courses at Winona State University and has facilitated a number of Lean projects in healthcare.

Bill Gould – Chief People Resources Officer, Winona Health

Mark Cairns – CEO, Madonna Living Community

Ann MacDonald – Leadership Institute Director, Winona State University

Leading Change Through Strategic Capability Development

Implementing change successfully means strategically developing a culture in which employees communicate and work together differently.  Instead of making decisions in silos, employees work collaboratively across departments.  Instead of pointing the finger in blame when conflict erupts, employees engage in cooperative problem-solving and decision-making.  In this session we will discuss how a hospital and a long term care facility have identified and prioritized the capabilities their supervisors and managers need to learn in order to achieve their organizational strategic goals.  

William Gould is responsible for the overall administration and operation of Human Resources at Winona Health. Gould also has experience as a K-9 officer and Lieutenant in the law enforcement field.  Gould is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, and has received his certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wyoming.

Mark Cairns has been active in the health care industry for over thirty years.  In his present position as Administrator for Madonna Living Community of Rochester, Inc., Rochester, Minnesota, his responsibilities include oversight of a Continuing Care Retirement Community, along with a skilled nursing home and an assisted living facility.   He is currently overseeing the construction of a 16 unit memory care facility on Madonna Towers campus.  Mr. Cairns has a Minnesota Nursing Home Administrator’s license and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Minnesota.  He is a member of the Regulatory Committee of Care Providers of Minnesota, and is on the Executive Alliance/Design Team of HealthForce Minnesota.

Ann joined the Outreach and Continuing Education department at Winona State University in 1997.  She facilitates and coordinates leadership programs for educational institutions, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and businesses.   Most recently, her work has allowed her to integrate leadership principles in conjunction with lean implementation projects in healthcare and higher education.  She facilitated leadership workshops for Winona Health as part of a Leadership in Lean grant funded by Minnesota Job Skills Partnership.  This spring she is the project director for a grant to develop a leadership academy model for health care that ties leadership competencies to the organization’s strategic plan.  She holds a Master’s degree in Training and Development from Winona State University and a Bachelors of Science in Education degree in English from Truman State University. 

Ann MacDonald – Facilitator, Winona State University Healthcare Solutions and Director of  Leadership Institute

Sara Gabrick – Vice President for Patient Care, Chief Nursing Officer, Winona Health

Tough Conversations

When it comes to implementing process improvements, tough conversations are always close at hand.  From supervisors who roadblock change to team members who monopolize the brainstorming session, the way we handle them means we either move forward or we get stuck.  Learn some tips on how to handle tough conversations more effectively.

Sara Gabrick, Winona Health's Vice President of Patient Care/Chief Nursing Officer, oversees Surgical and Anesthesia Services, Emergency Services, Dialysis, Infection Control, and the Winona Area Ambulance Service. Gabrick has dedicated 20 years to Winona Health's Community Memorial Hospital, including working as Director of Critical Care Services for Surgery, the Intensive Care Unit and the Emergency Department. She also served as Head Nurse for the Surgery Department, where she began her career as a registered nurse.  Gabrick received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from the College of Saint Theresa in Winona. She received her Master of Science degree in Nursing Administration from Winona State University.

Barb Larsen – Associate Director Career Services, Winona State University

The 7 Habits for Healthcare Introduction

The 7 Habits of Healthcare introductory workshop is based on the best-selling business book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” This workshop experience provides the foundation to strengthen the human side of performance at the personal, managerial, and organizational levels, in particular for employees of healthcare. The7 Habits course equips employees with the tools and skills to work at the highest level of effectiveness, both with and through others.  By making people effective, your healthcare organization can be effective.

For nearly 25 years, Barb Larsen has built a reputation for developing customer service and strategic marketing programs that command results.  Two decades of business experience working for electric and gas utilities have taught her valuable lessons about dealing with corporate downsizing, change, mergers, and “doing more with less.”  Barb worked in Continuing Education/Customized Education at Winona State University for four years before moving to Career Services as Associate Director, and co-wrote the “Lean in Healthcare” MJSP grant in partnership with Winona Health.  Barb is an adjunct professor teaching training and development classes in the Human Resource and Business Education major and Training & Development minor degrees at Winona State. 

Dan Rand – Associate Professor, Winona State University Healthcare Solutions

Lean or Six Sigma for Healthcare: Is there a Difference?

We will examine the steps to process improvement in healthcare: assessment, identification and prioritization of improvement projects, project execution (analysis tools), and implementation of improvements. We will examine the differences between Lean and Six Sigma approaches, and also look at some other approaches for process improvement in healthcare.

Dan Rand has a PhD from the University of Minnesota in industrial engineering. Dan is this year’s lead investigator on the Healthcare Quality Collaborative project under a HealthForce Minnesota grant.  He is certified in Lean for Healthcare from the University of Michigan and is a Fellow of the American Society for Quality.

Jeremy Schwartz – Manufacturing Specialist, Alexandria Technical College Customized Training

6S Visual Workplace

The goal of 6S is to reduce the staff time lost by constantly looking for supplies and equipment.  Implementing 6S will help your organization to reduce stress, improve morale, make a safer work environment and enhance customer satisfaction.  A 6S improvement will also help to control inventory costs and wasteful over-ordering of supplies.

Jeremy Schwartz has experience in design, quality systems, manufacturing systems operation and management. He has used many of the tools and methodologies found in today’s most profitable and efficient companies. Jeremy has nearly 10 years of design and manufacturing experience (including over eight years involved with the design and manufacturing of drive train components)and a BS in Industrial Technology from Bemidji State University.

Tami Lichtenberg – Program Director, Rural Health Resource Center, Duluth, MN

Finding Grant Funding for your Performance Improvement Initiatives

Get some tips on where to look for funding, how to prepare to take advantage of emerging opportunities, what funders are looking for in a proposal and how to make the most of your grant proposals.

Tami Lichtenberg has been at the Center since 2002.  She is an experienced grant writer and grant reviewer.  Tami has secured over $9 million in grant funding for rural hospitals and other non-profits.  Her background includes experience in performance improvement, balanced scorecard, corporate communications, advertising, strategic planning, program development and public speaking.

Daniel Rand – Facilitator, Winona State University Healthcare Solutions

Kimberlee Snyder –Facilitator, Winona State University Healthcare Solutions

“Data 101” – Basic Collection and Analysis of Healthcare Process Data 

A first step for success in audits, accreditation, and improvement projects is to collect the right data. We will examine the types of data that are available in healthcare, examples of meaningful measures that meet various requirements, and simple, effective analysis techniques for the different data types.

See above sessions for presenter backgrounds.

Mary Jensen – Director of Human Resources, Madonna Living Community

Daniel Rand – Facilitator, Winona State University Healthcare Solutions

Improving Retention of Certified Nursing Assistants at Madonna Living Communities (MLC)

MLC and Winona State Healthcare Solutions partnered for a pilot improvement project under a HealthForce Minnesota (formerly CIHSEP) grant. MLC staff members were trained in Lean methods, and chose retention of Certified Nursing Assistants as the improvement opportunity. The team created a value stream map of the hiring process, and identified patient measures using Lean and Six Sigma tools. Changes in the hiring process for CNAs were made and attrition rates continue to be monitored. In the second phase, the employee training and orientation process has been identified for further improvement.

Mary Jensen, SPHR, holds a BS degree from the University of Colorado in Business Administration/Human Resource Management. She has been trained in LEAN in Healthcare and has led the LEAN initiative at Madonna Living Community.

Tess Dandrea – Custom Training Representative, Lake Superior College

Mike Boeselager – Director of Materials Management, St. Luke's Hospital

"LHW reVIEW" course passes the test for St. Luke's Hospital

Lake Superior College (LSC) Duluth, MN, along with St. Luke's, are partnering to deliver Cindy Jimmerson's "reVIEW" course.  St. Luke's is a 267 bed, acute care hospital located in Duluth with clinics in northeast Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Mike will present case studies from the training which began last fall for 62 employees that participated in the interactive, 14 hour course utilizing Value Stream Mapping and the A3 problem solving tool.  In February, St. Luke's and LSC were awarded a three year Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Grant which will add six modules to their Lean / Six Sigma toolbox.

Mike Boeselager holds a bachelor's degree in organizational management from Concordia University, St. Paul, MN, and an Associate degree in supervisory management from Lake Superior College.  Mike has 25 years experience in supply chain logistics and distribution with the past 11 years in the health care industry.