New Work

See Naida's essay on hand hygiene on Mark Graban's blog :http://www.leanblog.org

The Pittsburgh Way to Efficient Healthcare has now been translated into Korean and Spanish. The latter version was courtesy of Global Links with a grant from Atlantic Philanthropies. To order a copy, contact Naida.

The work at Allegheny General Hospital, outlined in The Pittsburgh Way, is the subject of this short video produced by Toyota. Speaking is Dr. Diane Frndak, whose touching story is recounted in Chapter 1.

http://www.youtube.com

In November 2010, Naida Grunden accompanied a contingent of lean experts to Cuba, to exchange information with the heads of six health institutes. The group, spearheaded by the Pittsburgh nonprofit, Global Links (www.globallinks.org), will return in 2011 to exchange information about doing more with less with Toyota-based Lean. Here is the article describing her trip:

http://www.bellinghamherald.com

Several months ago I partnered with Dr. Michael Culig, a cardiothoracic surgeon from Pittsburgh and early adopter of Toyota/Lean methods, on an article for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. In my book, The Pittsburgh Way to Efficient Healthcare, Mike's is one of the case studies I discuss, as he tackled untangling patients' IV lines post-surgery.

Mike has continued to work to introduce Lean in the surgical suite, against an often-hostile cultural backdrop. He has now demonstrated statistically significant improvement in surgical outcomes using Toyota/Lean methods. It was my privilege to edit the article and add a few points of emphasis about Lean, and so Mike added me as an author.

This is a big deal for Mike, for Lean, for the struggling hospital system he is in, and for the notion that Lean applies not just to cleaning out the closets, but to standardizing clinical practice. Our healthcare system can be better. Thought you would enjoy seeing this article.

Click here for the PDF

Click here to listen to Naida's interview about the link between aviation and patient safety, with Lean expert Mark Graban