Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Watch it Mr. Broken Crash Cart Man!

A few months back, we were challenged with a Crash Cart in one of the areas (it needed to be plugged in to an outlet). The issue was quickly resolved (no patient was impacted)....I'll be back to this reference...

This afternoon, we had a meaningful and lively discussion in our strategy and operations meeting. This is a meeting where our Directors, VPs and Managers from all areas discuss and address key strategic and operational priorities. We started with some overall updates and I shared a few stories about my recent 'In your shoes' experiences. Ben, our KU Intern then presented a process improvement opportunity in Surgery. He shared our current and ideal future state for Surgery turnover times. Turnover time is the time elapsed between one patient leaving the OR and the next patient entering.
From there, we started discussing our regulatory updates and the level of engagement and accountability among the leaders was amazing. The discussion centered around two focus areas and the need to bring to final resolution. All we needed to do was hold each other and ourselves accountable...200% accountability as we say.

They really challenged each other and brought a new level of "respectful tension" to the room - it was refreshing for everyone. Dr. W, our Chief Medical Information Officer, also spoke up providing his perspective as a surgeon.

What did we all agree at the end of the day? It is all about the safety of our patients and our consistency in delivering safe and coordinated care to our patients. We needed to remain true Unwavering Advocates for those we serve.

One final comment came when one Director turned to another and said he could probably go on her unit and point out some areas to improve. She turned to him in a kind and direct manner and said, "Watch it Mr. Broken Crash Cart Man...people in glass houses should not throw stones" (note: from crash cart reference at the start of this blog).

We all enjoyed a good laugh at the end and stayed committed to resolving the two issues we needed to address. A great job by the team.

I look forward to hearing from you.

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