CASE STUDY: SMART SMALL HOSPITAL TRANSFORMATION AT RIVERSIDE MEDICAL CENTER
Riverside Medical Center (RMC) is a 25 bed CAH in Franklinton, LA, 70 miles North of New Orleans. Patients can drive 45 minutes in several directions to obtain care at larger facilities and the local patient base was slowly dwindling. RMC had been unsuccessful in addressing the issues leading to customer flight and something had to be done quickly. Several managers had attended Lean Six Sigma training (LSS) in the past, but were unable to make significant progress. Due to past positive experience with LSS, RMC executives were convinced this was the right way to go,but the question was how to make it work effectively in their small facility without breaking the bank.
The Goal
Long-standing change research has shown that effective change begins with a managerial focus on results, not on mass training. Meaningful, targeted results generate belief among those who must implement change and deeply engages them at the level needed for sustained effort. RMC needed fast results and wanted that to translate into a sustainable impact on the organization’s culture.
The Solution
RMC elected to engage SigmaMed Solutions in a SMART Small Hospital Transformation (SMART SHOT). The SMART SHOT is a Lean Six Sigma initiative that quickly addresses a hospital’s top four revenue or patient care issues with Rapid Improvement Training projects, while at the same time mentoring managers and staff in the effective use of Lean Six Sigma. The projects pay for themselves within a month or two and the facility is left with a trained cadre of LSS-certified staff to continue working on the next tier of issues. Non-labor expenses are also addressed with an assessment vs. national benchmarks and recommendations made to reduce these drivers of cost.
The Impact
“P&L is sitting at about 575k once I remove contractual/staff cost obligations from those revenue numbers…Easy win.” – Brandon Anzaldua, CFO, Riverside Medical Center (4 months post-project) .
- 48% increase in clinic volume and revenue; provider and patient satisfaction also increased!
- Cancellations in Cath Lab down from 20/month to 0 in past 6 months
- Employee evaluations reduced from 90 to less than 30 mins/employee
- Faxed orders in clinic reduced from 52 to fewer than 30 per day
Internal Capacity to Sustain
In addition to recouping costs quickly and solving several problems, the SMART SHOT at RMC developed a competent core of managers and staff ready to continue driving their Lean Transformation. During the engagement RMC developed the following new capacity to continuously improve:
Coaching is a fundamental tenet in all successful Lean organizations, and these projects developed several tiers of coaching expertise to provide RMC with the critical mass needed to continue their transformation.
The Black Belt can now mentor and develop motivated staff who want to serve as Team Leaders, Team Leaders who complete several more projects may advance to the rank of Black Belt, and the Black Belt may continue his or her progression by completing additional projects. The potential to gain a certification engages all participants and provides incentive to put in the extra work needed for successful project results, all while driving a culture of excellence into the heart of the organization.
How To Begin
To schedule a complimentary 1 ½ hour Lean leadership overview and project prioritization session for your leadership team please contact us using one of the contact options below. Your team will come out of this with an understanding of key Lean concepts and a prioritized list of opportunities for improvement. At that point you can engage us in a SMART Small Hospital Transformation, elect to try us out with 1 Rapid Improvement Training project, or work the projects on your own with existing internal resources.
Or reach out directly to Jamie Martin, SigmaMed CEO and Black Belt.
