NUHEALTH SELECTED BY NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC HOSPITALS TO PARTICIPATE IN DENVER HEALTH SYSTEM LEAN TRAINING PROGRAM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2012
PRESS CONTACT:
Shelley Lotenberg
shelley@numc.edu
516-572-6055
NUHEALTH SELECTED BY NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC HOSPITALS TO PARTICIPATE IN DENVER HEALTH SYSTEM LEAN TRAINING PROGRAM
LEAN STRATEGIES TO HELP TRANSFORM AND STREAMLINE NUHEALTH OPERATIONS AND IMPROVE QUALITY OF CARE
East Meadow, NY…..Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the NuHealth System, announced that the NuHealth System was one of two organizations selected by the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH) to participate in the LEAN training program sponsored this fall by the Denver Health System in Colorado.
In a recent letter to Gianelli, Jill Steinbruegge, MD, PhD, senior vice president for leadership and innovation at NAPH, indicated: “I am extremely pleased to inform you that NuHealth has been selected to participate in the training program provided by Denver Health to support the use of LEAN methods to achieve the Partnership for Patients goals. NAPH and Denver Health are impressed by the foundation of successful and recognized improvement work at NuHealth and by the commitment of NuHealth’s leadership and its board of directors to make the required investment in LEAN beyond the training with Denver Health, to reap the significant benefits for your patients and for your organization.”
LEAN program methodology is a comprehensive approach to improving quality and efficiency in organization management and operations. Denver Health, the major safety net system in Colorado and a leading NAPH member, embraced LEAN improvement methods in 2006 as part of their strategic plan. Under the leadership of CEO Patricia Gabow, MD, Denver used LEAN to achieve quality and cost improvements that have achieved dramatic reductions in adverse clinical outcomes.
“For NuHealth to be selected by NAPH to participate in the LEAN initiative sponsored by Denver Health is welcome good news. Denver is arguably the best run public hospital in the nation and they have used LEAN strategies to transform and streamline their operations while significantly improving quality of care,” stated Gianelli. “The adoption of such methods is critical to our future success, since we will need to realize continuous quality improvement in the context of reduced staff and lower reimbursement.”
On April 24th, 2012, NuHealth’s board of directors approved a resolution committing resources to NuHealth’s participation in the LEAN process. As he thanked the board for approving the resolution of support that was key to a successful outcome, Gianelli added: “Like most safety net hospitals around the country, over the past several years, NuHealth has been struggling to maintain a positive bottom line. In order to survive, NuHealth must adopt new long term strategies that will make us competitive and continue our core mission, which is unique amongst the many hospitals that serve the Long Island region.A special thanks is owed to Guy Courbois, vice president of operations and a NAPH Fellow, who spearheaded this effort and who will lead our effort on behalf of the corporation, serving as the senior LEAN facilitator as we restructure our operation to be more efficient.”
LEAN is centered on preserving value by avoiding unecessary costs and waste in order to improve quality of care. Lean manufacturing, lean enterprise or lean production, often simply “LEAN” is a production practice that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer, to be wasteful and thus a target for elimination.
In accepting his appointment to serve as senior LEAN facilitator, Courbois said: “I look forward to collaborating with NAPH and Denver Health in addressing the special challenges that we, as a safety net system, face. I am honored to have the opportunity to make a real difference by transforming an acknowledged inefficient operation into a competitive market force that can improve the quality and access to care for the neediest and most vulnerable populations in our region.”
ABOUT NUHEALTH
NuHealth is a Long Island health care organization delivering essential medical care and disease and lifestyle management to everyone at every stage of life. Also known as Nassau Health Care Corporation, NuHealth is a public benefit corporation managing the operations of Nassau Medical Center, A. Holly Patterson Extended Care and a network of Family Health Centers that bring primary and specialty care out into the community. By emphasizing wellness, cultural sensitivity and collaborative efforts with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, NuHealth is working to make good care more affordable and easier to access.
For more information about NuHealth or its Centers of Care, visit www.nuhealth.net.