The data from this program is undisputable; it works. With hospitals bleeding red ink and facing more dire reimbursement cuts, this type of measurable, sustainable, and feasible improvement is absolutely critical.
Collierville, TN (PRWEB) February 24, 2014
LifeWings Partners LLC, the leader in patient safety improvement, is pleased to announce the three-year results of its Lean + TeamSTEPPS service. After years of observing hospitals struggling with poor results from their improvement programs, LifeWings developed a way to combine TeamSTEPPS, the evidence-based teamwork system from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and Lean, a practice borrowed from Toyota that emphasizes maximizing customer value with less waste, into one highly effective solution.
Now LifeWings has proof that Lean + TeamSTEPPS works. Over the last three years the firm has:
- Partnered with more than 50 hospitals;
- Trained 225 healthcare teams;
- Helped to create and implement over 400 customized checklists and other safety tools;
- And certified 91 Master TeamSTEPPS Trainers.
The total financial benefit of this work is nothing less than astounding. Their hospital partners saved or increased revenues by more than $24 million dollars.
Steve Harden, the CEO of LifeWings, states that, “The data from this program is undisputable; it works. With hospitals bleeding red ink and facing more dire reimbursement cuts, this type of measurable, sustainable, and feasible improvement is absolutely critical. I do not know how hospitals will survive without it."
The increase in preventable medical errors and the ominous financial outlook in healthcare have made many hospital systems implement disparate improvement programs over the last several years to mixed results.
Although TeamSTEPPS is an excellent program with proven results, and hospitals desperately need the long-term savings associated with higher patient satisfaction and safety, hospital leadership can be reluctant to make the required investment. LifeWings has found the solution to enabling more hospitals to implement TeamSTEPPS. The answer is to add Lean methodologies to the program. As Steve Harden explains, “Hospitals that adopt Lean practices save money and uncover hidden waste. These additional resources can help fund a successful TeamSTEPPSS implemention – which also provides long-term cost savings. It’s a winning solution every time.”
Through its expert Toyota-trained coaches and its course development team, LifeWings has created a system that facilitates synergy of the two programs. LifeWings’ history of effectively implementing crew resource management (teamwork and communication skills) has enabled them to blend the best practices and training solutions for LeanSTEPPPs and Lean into one cohesive program that is easy for hospitals to plan, implement, and measure.
The program improves engagements between administrators, physicians, and nurses, uncovers areas where work can be more standardized, facilitates the development of usable safety tools, and creates a culture of safety. Metrics are chosen at the beginning of the program and constantly monitored to ensure sustainable results and continuous improvements. Future staff training plans are devised to ensure that the improvements are not lost with time and hospitals leaders are brought into the process from the beginning. These features are unique to the LifeWings Lean + TeamSTEPPS program and are what guarantees a hospital a significant return on investment.
To help educate hospital leaders on how to take the first step to getting these types of dramatic results, LifeWings is offering a new presentation as a part of the Professional Speakers Series:
Affordable Care Act Tool Kit - The secret formula for combining Lean and TeamSTEPPS to prosper during the reimbursement storm.
Hospital leaders can schedule this session via web, phone, or on-site. SCHEDULE HERE
Learn more about Lean + Healthcare at http://www.saferpatients.com.
About LifeWings:
LifeWings Partners, LLC is a team of physicians, nurses, Toyota-trained Lean experts, health risk managers, astronauts, military surgeons, and flight crews. In 2005 we pioneered the successful adaptation of best practices from high-reliability organizations such as aviation and nuclear energy, to healthcare. We have partnered with more than 110 leading healthcare organizations and have helped them achieve dramatic, sustainable, and measurable improvements in safety and profitability.