Leaning Toward Lean: Clear Thinking For Better Health(Care)

Mindfulness is all about paying attention. It's amazing what can be accomplished when mindfulness is applied to systems that need all the attention they can get. If there's an industry that needs some CPR and TLC, it's healthcare.

Cindy Jimmerson is a 30-year trauma nurse who is passionate about streamlining healthcare processes. Her consulting company, Lean HealthCare West, is blasting through always-done-it-that-way thinking to reduce waiting time for patients, eliminate staff errors, and save hospitals and patients millions of dollars.

She is the Queen of Lean in hospitals, and she's on a mission to improve the health of our country's largest industry--$1.76 trillion in 2002, and soon to explode as the baby-boomers hit their sixties.

When it comes to looking for powerful tools for transforming processes, we're fortunate to have a proven model that continues to outperform peers around the world. The Toyota Production System was originally developed by an American, W. Edwards Deming, who couldn't get anyone in the U.S. to pay attention to his approach. The Japanese listened and learned. Today, TPS continues to propel industries toward greater productivity, less waste, improved quality, and increased workplace appreciation.

Cindy's firm takes TPS straight to the ER and beyond. Now, you might think that a model focusing on getting product moved through the assembly line more efficiently is completely inappropriate for handling human patients. You would be dead wrong.

TPS focuses on adding value to what matters most--in this case, caring for patients. In doing so, it takes a hard look at every step taken which results in less contact with those who need care. The customer is king, and in healthcare, the customer is the patient. Instead of developing ways to make hospitals more profitable by relegating the patient to widget status, TPS restores the patient as the primary focus. How refreshing!

There's a common misconception that people do not like change. I happen to love rearranging rooms every season. However, I'd probably get a little cranky if I walked into my house and found that someone else had moved all the furniture.

The real story is that people do not like change that is imposed upon them, but they appreciate being part of the solution. Employees using TPS love having the opportunity to creatively explore options that allow them to perform their work with greater efficiency. And why not? It helps them reconnect to the best parts of their job.

Toyota walks its talk. It would be one thing if the company had a policy of being "open to suggestions" while rarely making any changes. But Toyota consistently acts on its employees' recommendations. In fact, the most recent figures indicate that the company implemented 99% of its yearly total of over 700,000 employee ideas!

That same emphasis on valuing the knowledge and experience of employees and trusting them to develop better processes is the key to tackling healthcare's estimated waste--a whopping 50%.

TPS is mindfulness in action--paying attention to extra steps, inconvenient sequences, and indirect communication. The best part? Anyone can do it.

Doctors, nurses and other hospital workers are hard-working, compassionate people who are committed to providing their patients with top-notch care. Broken systems get in the way. Mindful management can repair those systems, and in the process, everyone wins.

Mindfulness at work? It works.

Talk to your doctor about getting lean.

About The Author

Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse offering specialized mindfulness training to indiviuals and corporate groups in the Pacific Northwest. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, visit http://www.massageyourmind.com. To learn more about lean healthcare, visit http://leanhealthcarewest.com

maya@massageyourmind.com

---

Fast Weight Loss - Can You Really Lose 60lbs in 30 Days?

Fast Weight Loss - Is it better to lose 2lbs... Read More

Mexican Living: Too Dang Fat!

I thought I could avoid this when we moved to... Read More

How To Find Your Ideal Body Weight

A calorie is the unit used to measure the energy... Read More

Choose to Lose - The Simplicity of Weight Loss and Understanding Emotional Eating

Permanent Weight loss is not about Diet. If you are... Read More

Obesity:The Gateway to Diseases

Do you know the name of that one disease which... Read More

Weight Loss - Long Term Success Starts In Your Mind

Making the Decision:Whether you are interested losing ten pounds that... Read More

Exposed: The 95% Dieting Lie Thats Keeping You Fat

Repeat a lie often enough and people take it as... Read More

Weights Before Cardio: Stop Working Against Yourself

Just because you're working hard, doesn't mean that you're working... Read More

Add High Water Content Fruits and Vegetables to Your Diet For Fast Weight Loss

Include in your diet things that contain more water like... Read More

Side Effects of The Famous Ephedra Product

Ephedra has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of... Read More

Belly Fat: Enough of That! One Probable Cause of Excess Abdominal Fat

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor; nor do I play... Read More

Close Kept Secrets to Weight Loss #1

I am so grateful that you're taking steps to take... Read More

Weight Loss: Weight Loss is All in Your Mind!

"The kind of thoughts that you plant in your mind,... Read More

Weight Loss: Where to find Hidden Calories

If you have been eating as usual and the pounds... Read More

Thirty Hints & Tips to Achievable Weight Loss

Here are some everyday, helpful hints to get you started,... Read More

Revolutionary, Safe, and Clinically Proven Natural Weight Loss

America is in a health care crisis. More than 60... Read More

Natural Weight Loss: Add to Your Diet and Add Years to Your Life

As I was saying in my past articles, others have... Read More

Weight Loss: How to Get Rid of Excess You

Q: "I'm wondering if you can help me. I'm not... Read More

Running from the Fat Monster after Gastric Bypass

Many patients of gastric bypass report feeling fearful of succeeding... Read More

Weight Loss: The A Factor - The #1 Secret to Sticking to Your Weight Loss Program!

Twenty years ago, I did not expect to accomplish what... Read More

4 Keys to Weight Loss

First off, let me start by saying this list is... Read More

How To Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind!

Ah the ever present battle to lose those unwanted pounds.... Read More

Atkins Diet -- The Final Verdict

Supporters of the Atkins Diet claim that a low carbohydrate... Read More

The History of Tumescent Liposuction

Liposuction is also referred to as lipoplasty, suction-assisted lipectomy and... Read More

Even Gastric Bypass Patients Hit Weight Loss Plateaus

Sometime, during the phase of rapid weight loss after gastric... Read More

Can Quick Weight Loss Really Work?

Quick weight loss is promised by diets all the time.... Read More

LA Weight Loss Secrets ? High Profile Personal Trainer Shares the Magic Formula!

In the early nineties I had the opportunity to work... Read More

Fitness Wars: Revenge of the Girth

As of the writing of this article, May 16, 2005,... Read More

Dieting: A Few Smart Dieting Secrets To Rejuvenate You

In our society of fast food and long hours spent... Read More

Weight Loss: The Strength in Setting Goals, Achieving Objectives, and The Power of Intention

The act of taking the first step is what separates... Read More

The Secret of Weight Loss

In the medical community, "obesity" is generally said to be... Read More

Hang In There Dieters, Help Is At Hand!!

I was thinking about diets and such and it occurred... Read More

The R Factors - Your Answer For Getting To The Perfect Body For Fitness And Health

Building a Perfect Body for Body Perfect Fitness and Health... Read More