UH-Neomed Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Training Empowers Caregivers with Tools for Process Improvement

UH Research & Education Update | August 2024

On Wednesday, July 31, 2024, the Executive Education of Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), in partnership with University Hospitals, hosted its third in-person Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt session at UH’s Management Services Center. Since our inaugural March 2024 cohort, 124 UH caregivers have enrolled in the Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt for Healthcare Operations (LSSYB) program. The inaugural cohorts included employees ranging from pharmacists and physicians to data scientists, project managers and clinical staff. During our most recent in-person session, teams worked on developing Lean processes with project topics such as optimizing the pediatric scheduling decision tree, standardizing pediatric supply carts in the Emergency Department (ED), reducing defects in completing the Medicare second-payer reimbursement questionnaire (MSPQ), improving surgical joint replacement patient care transitions, and increasing fitness center memberships.

The day began with a review of UH’s Objective Key Results (OKRs) initiative and their relation to the project charters   developed through this LSSYB experience. After some project work time, the cohort began a NEOMED yellow belt course classic — the airplane activity! Divided into two competing paper airplane manufacturing teams, learners simulated push-and-pull systems before implementing their process improvement ideas with a rapid improvement burst with their team. During debriefs between rounds, learners demonstrated LSS knowledge gained from the past two months of asynchronous content as they applied Lean concept design and data collection in the discussions. 

 

After lunch, learners participated in a session dedicated to hands-on process mapping. With the support of both NEOMED and UH LSS Black Belts and Master Black Belts, teams worked collaboratively to map their current state process, identify waste and value through their processes, and brainstorm ideas for their future process state.  Teams presented their project progress and next steps with the cohort to close the day

Matt Bocian, MedHub Coordinator, CMC GME Team, shared, “The whole class and experience (today and throughout) was exceptional! [It’s a] great program. [I’m] so happy UH sees value in process improvement!” One caregiver shared, “The instructors were knowledgeable and kept the mood upbeat. I was invested in learning more because it was fun.”

The collaborative UH-NEOMED team is incredibly proud of the hard work our inaugural cohorts put in, and we cannot wait to see how their projects progress through the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt for Healthcare Operations program. Both Yellow and Green Belt programs include:

• One in-person cohort session.
• Several opportunities for subject matter expert engagement.
• A high-quality asynchronous online curriculum.

If you are interested in learning more about the Lean Six Sigma program visit the Digital Workplace LSS site, or contact contact the UH R&E Team with questions or to refer a colleague. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with cohorts starting on the first of each month.