Quality And Business Excellence Program
Virginia Mason Production System – Lean in Healthcare
Evening Presentation (May 17th) & All-Day Workshop (May 18th)
 

Transforming health care requires a balancing of the keystones of quality, service, performance, morale and cost. This is the primary challenge faced by health care providers, organizations and government agencies across the globe. How do health care systems provide a high-quality, cost effective service for patients when they need it, in the amount they need it, that is appropriate for what they need to live well? 

Virginia Mason Medical Center has been able to face these challenges through a relentless focus on eliminating the waste in their health care system. In order to do so, in 2002, they adopted the Toyota Production System as their management method. The Virginia Mason Production System (VMPS) places the patient first while pursuing zero defects in health care. This journey has led to many honors and awards, including being one of only two Leapfrog Top Hospitals of the Decade in the United States.

Evening Presentation – Thursday May 17, 2012

Chris Backous, faculty member of the Virginia Mason Institute and our guest speaker, will outline the history and the fundamental principles of the Virginia Mason Production System – including how it was adapted from the Toyota Production System and the ways in which it is still evolving today. He will discuss the application of lean principles to a health care system using real world examples to illustrate what can be gained from a leaner health care system. Examples of these gains include lowered costs for running the hospital, as well as a marked increase in quality of care and patient safety.  

The Virginia Mason Institute (VMI) provides education and training services to those who seek to join them in transforming health care. VMI has provided numerous health care organizations, including those in our province, with education and training on the benefits of using lean management to improve quality and service and to decrease costs by putting the patient first. 

The Virginia Mason Institute will be hosting a workshop on the day after the presentation (May 18, 2012) that will cover these concepts and their applications in much greater detail. 

Thursday, May 17^th, 6:00-8:30pm
Doors open at 6:00 pm, meeting starts at 6:30 pm  Light refreshments will be served.
Location will be announced shortly.               Register for Evening Presentation

All-Day VMI Workshop – Friday May 18, 2012

Those attending the Virginia Mason Institute workshop will learn how to apply the fundamentals of lean tools and methods to their own work through a combination of lectures and hands-on process simulations. After attending this workshop, participants will be able to identify waste within their current state process flows and to generate ideas for applying basic lean tools and methods to not only create dramatic initial improvements to quality, service, performance and cost but also to keep the momentum going in order to achieve a sustainable and lasting change. 

This workshop will educate participants on basic daily lean management principles and will give them tools used by a lean management team to uncover and to exploit opportunities for improvement. The workshop format is based on a "learn and do" method where case stories and practical application will enhance the participant's ability to apply their learning on their own genba, or place where the work occurs.

Friday, May 18^th, 8am – 5pm   Hands-On Workshop
Continental Breakfast and a light lunch will be included.
Location will be announced shortly.

Registration fee:  ASQ member- $435, Associate/Non-member- $450

Register by Sunday, April 15^th for a $20 early bird discount

Space is limited, so register today.

Don’t forget – meetings are worth 0.3 RU points towards your recertification