November 27, 2014

• Cold Weather Strategy for those in need of shelter

• World AIDS Day

• New Corporate Wall Walk video

• Seasonal Influenza campaign

Continued on Page 2

“Just getting our feet wet”JBA/RQHR Quarterly Review highlights Region’s improvement progressNot so long ago, Tina Sentes was dubious about Lean. “I was frustrated with change. Part of it was not knowing the concepts,” said Sentes, a Licensed Practical Nurse. “I was on autopilot, and all of a sudden you’re asked to get off autopilot.”

Only once she became a participant in a 5S campaign in her work area did the new approaches begin to make sense. 5S stands for sort, simplify, sweep, standardize and self-discipline. It is based on the principle that there’s a place for everything, and everything’s in its place.

“It was obvious Lean wasn’t going away, so I got involved,” said Sentes, who works in Regina General Hospital’s (RGH’s) Renal Unit. “It was through trial and error, doing weekly evaluations, having a checklist to go through, getting everybody into the routine of change that I started to understand.”

Too much stuffShelley Stamm, Clinical Nurse Manager of the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region’s (RQHR’s) Renal units, asked the Kaizen Promotion Office for support doing a 5S because the surface areas in the patient treatment bays were cluttered and disorganized. Counters were so crammed with supplies they could not be wiped down at the beginning and end of each shift – an expectation of the Region’s infection control policy.

(Left) Tina Sentes with the nursing supply cart; client Don Richardson looks on. (Right) Ismael Abdu stocks the nursing supply cart. Photo credits: Medical Media Services.

“There were 2,033 items in just

one [three-by-seven foot] area

that included a countertop and

cupboard space, and 2,462 total

in the bay. We didn’t need all

this stuff. Through [Lean], we

considered ‘What do you need to

do your job efficiently?’”

Tina Sentes,Licensed Practical Nurse,Regina General Hospital, Renal Unit

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“Staff were often looking for supplies because they weren’t stored in a consistent way in every bay,” said Stamm, explaining that nurses work in every bay, depending on their shift.

RGH’s Renal Unit has six treatment bays with a total of 40 patient stations. In October, Sentes, with 5S teammates Jocelyn (Joy) Lekcharoen, a Registered Nurse, and Ismael Abdu, a Unit Support Worker, and supported by Andrea Dutchak, a Kaizen Specialist, 5S’d Bay 4.

“There were 2,033 items in just one (three-by-seven foot) area that included a countertop and cupboard space, and 2,462 total in the bay,” Sentes told a group touring the site as part of the John Black and Associates (JBA)/ RQHR’s two-day Quarterly Review. “We didn’t need all this stuff. Through this process, we considered ‘What do you need to do your job efficiently?’”

Taming the clutterThe team transferred the nursing supplies from the countertop to a portable cart. Like items were grouped in baskets marked with tape or in other ways that signal when restocking is required. They reduced the number of items stored on ledges and created parking lots – designated areas outlined in tape – for remaining essential items.

The total inventory was cut in half, to 1,298 items, through the removal of expired and excess items. The dollar value of the bay’s stock was also reduced from $1,676 to $1,198 per bay.

Restocking a breezeAbdu, who is responsible for restocking the nursing cart, said stocking nursing supplies used to take about 10 minutes per bay. “Now, everything is marked, clean and stocked appropriately

– I just have to check to see what I need. This takes me five minutes.”

The process wasn’t seamless. “Some staff members were resistant,” said Stamm, “but as staff work with the change they see the benefits. Now they want parking lots for everything.”

5S times 5Staff has now replicated the changes in the five similar treatment bays and are tweaking changes to ensure they have the required supplies at hand.

“With the standardization, the supplies are readily available on the cart, and it can go to the patient, so they’re not running around finding supplies,” said Stamm. “Because there are fewer interruptions, the patients benefit by more one-on-one time.”

“There’s so much more you can do,” added Sentes. “We’ve just got our feet wet.”

JBA/RQHR Quarterly Review – Working togetherThat sentiment was reflected throughout the JBA/RQHR, the RQHR’s seventh – and the last one evaluated by JBA before the RQHR assumes this role.

The event, held at the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre and Pasqua Hospital auditoriums, brought together senior leaders, physicians, and specialists and directors from the Kaizen Promotion Office/Kaizen Operation Teams (KOTs) to share successes, discuss challenges, report on their progress in implementing the Lean management system and indicate how this work supports RQHR in meeting regional and provincial targets and goals. The event also provided an opportunity for further training in using Lean tools.

The key objectives of this Quarterly Review were;

encourage service lines to look at how their work affects and is affected by other service lines, to evaluate whether they are pursuing the right goals and metrics; to learn how to link provincial and regional strategy and improvement work; and understand how to choose the right tools for the work. RQHR’s current service lines supported by KOTs are Surgical, Mental Health and Addictions, Medicine, Primary Health Care and Long-Term Care.

“You can’t fix the world overnight,” said Keith Dewar, RQHR’s President and CEO. “We’ve lots of work to do, but we’re making good progress.”

Going forward, improving the integration of our improvement work with our strategic planning will be incorporated into the RQHR Quarterly Review. The review’s training and evaluation component will be incorporated into other Lean training and assessment initiatives.

For the service line and CEO presentations, go to www.rqhrlean.com/rqhr-quarterly-review.html.

For RQHR’s 2014-15 Business Plan, go to www.rqhealth.ca/inside/about_us/pdf_files/rqhr_business_plan.pdf.

For RQHR’s Multi-Year Strategic Plan, go to www.rqhealth.ca/inside/about_us/pdf_files/rqhr_strategic_plan.pdf.

“Just getting our feet wet,” cont’d

Joy Lekcharoen assists client Don Richardson, her nursing supplies at hand. Photo credit: Medical Media Services.

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Support in Regina for those in need of shelter on cold nights The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region has a Cold Weather Strategy to support those at risk of homelessness.

The purpose is to ensure that services work together so everyone sleeps in a safe place on cold nights in Regina.

Regina will enact the Cold Weather Strategy each year between November 1 and March 31. If weather conditions require, the strategy will be enacted earlier than November and extended past March.

If you come in contact with an individual in need of shelter, please contact Mobile Crisis Services at 306-757-0127.

e-link is published weekly by the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region. We welcome submissions. Please submit items no later than two weeks before publication. Submissions are subject to the editorial guidelines of e-link. For more information, contact Communications at 306-766-5227 or email elink@rqhealth.ca.

© Copyright 2014Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region

Seasonal Influenza: It is seriousDon’t forget:

The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region’s (RQHR) Immunize or Mask Policy

starts December 1. It is very important to be

immunized to protect yourself and your loved ones!

For more information about the policy, visit

http://rhdintranet/ohs/public/Immunization/2014%20

RQHR%20Immunize%20or%20Mask%20Policy.pdf.

NEW Corporate Wall Walk videonow onlineThe Corporate Business Plan Wall tracks organizational progress towards the initiatives identified in the 2014/2015 RQHR Business Plan.

The November 18 Wall Walk video is now available on the Region’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOXARBflyvE&feature=youtu.be or on the Intranet at http://rhdintranet/rqhr/StrategicFramework/Corporate/CorporateVisibilityWall.htm.

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4 26th Annual Prairie Artists

Guild Show and SaleFriday, November 28, 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Meet the Artist: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.Saturday, November 29, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Wascana Rehabilitation Centre Concourse AreaPresented by: W.R.C. Volunteers Inc.

PROCEEDS FOR: Residents and patients of the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre.

www.prairieartistsguild.org

Region celebrates 23 new Lean leaders

The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR) recognized the graduation of 23 Lean leaders at the Management Forum on November 20 and at the 5S report out on November 21.

Keith Dewar, President and CEO of RQHR, and Amy Strudwick, Infrastructure Lead Specialist with the Kaizen Promotion Office, presented the participants at the Management Forum with a certificate signifying the completion of the John Black and Associates Lean leader program. Successful participants in the two-year program must meet rigorous academic and practical requirements.

Forty RQHR staff and physicians are now certified Lean leaders. The first group graduated in the fall of 2013.

(Left photo) L-R (back row): Dr. Ram Abdulla, Department Head, Respiratory Medicine; Glen Perchie, Executive Director, ER/EMS/Ambulatory Care; Leanna Florek, Lead Specialist, Primary Health Care Kaizen Operation Team (KOT); Tracy Kuhtz, Manager, Integrated Health Services, Program and Resource; Dr. Joy Dobson; Karen Earnshaw, Vice President, Integrated Health Services, Primary Health Care; Sheila Anderson, Executive Director, Primary Health Care - Urban; Taryn Lorencz, Director, Medicine Inpatient Units; and John Ash, Director, Patient Flow. L-R (front row): Michele Vogt, Executive Director, Employee Relations and Development; Sandra Lynn, Utilization Coordinator, Patient Flow; Dr. Tanya Diener, Medical Health Officer, Department Head of Public Health; Dawn Calder, Executive Director,

Patient Flow, Pharmacy and Respiratory Services; Jan Besse, Executive Director, Rehabilitation, Spiritual Care and Native Health Services; and Laurie Beitel, Interim Director, Operations Lab Services. Photo credit: Medical Media Services.

(Right photo) L-R: Donna Kimball, John Black and Associates; Marcia Pilon, Lead Specialist, Medicine KOT; Colleen Quinlan, Director, Mental Health and Addictions KOT; Nancy Buchan, Director, Primary Health Care KOT; and Alan Chapple, Executive Director, Kaizen Promotion Office. Photo credit: Mental Health & Addictions Kaizen Operation Team.Missing from the photos: Dr. Blignaut, Department Head, Family Medicine; Dr. David Kopriva; Barb Neumann, Director, Surgical Access and Inpatient Services; and Sharon Garratt, Executive Director, Women’s and Children’s Health.