Theresa Dean, Manager, Social Work; Terrill Redshaw, Case Manager, Central CCAC; Jennifer Wellman, Clinical Manager, Palliative and Medicine; Farrah Hirji, Project Manager, Organizational Effectiveness and Joan Baker, Clinical Manager, Medicine/Telemetry  

  Over the last 10 months, the Emergency Department has improved patient flow, increased patient and staff satisfaction and decreased wait times for patients.  

  To achieve these results, the department used Lean, a process improvement methodology, to examine the hospital’s processes from the patient’s perspective and implement improvements. 

  “An example of the success of the Lean initiative is the creation of the Rapid Assessment Zone (RAZ) in the Emergency Department,” Farrah Hirji, Project Manager, Organizational Effectiveness, explains.   

  In fact, as Bonnie Alexiou, Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department says, “The RAZ has lead to a 50 per cent decrease in the number of patients who left without being seen (LWBS) and has decreased the length of stay in the department by 19 per cent.” 

  Building on the success of Lean in the Emergency Department, the hospital will be using Lean tools in partnership with the Central CCAC to begin the Flo Collaborative.  

  This collaborative will bring together staff from both organizations to map out the process steps for medical patients from admission through to discharge.  

  “The goal is to improve transitions from acute care hospitals to subsequent care destinations for all patients, including those designated as Alternate Level of Care (ALC),” explains Farrah.  

  Beginning in January, a multidisciplinary team from the hospital and the Central CCAC will create a process map of the current state, identify a target state and develop an action plan.  

  The group will also participate in week-long Kaizen events, events that allow staff to work together and find solutions to challenges. “Kaizen” is a Japanese word that means “making change for the better” and, as Farrah explains, “These events are the most important tools in the Lean process as they allow us to deliver rapid change within a short period of time.” 

  The team will be working until May to improve patient transitions and as Carole Moore, Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness says, “We are excited about this initiative and what it will mean for our patients.”