Civic partner helps make the rounds at Wilford Hall

by Staff Sgt. Christopher Carwile
59th Medical Wing Public Affairs

2/4/2014 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- You've likely heard the phrase "don't reinvent the wheel" - that notion is exactly what's improving processes here at Wilford Hall.

Executive staff members from the Baptist Health System visited the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center Jan 30 to join 59th Medical Operations Group leaders for "lean daily management rounds" - a method that has helped Baptist Medical Center improve their processes.

Lean Daily Management rounds involve Col. John Andrus, 59th Medical Operations Group commander, and his executive team spending two to three minutes each day with the 44 duty sections under his command, coaching their teams on specific goals aimed at improving internal processes.

Each section has a board outlining three goals that drive process improvement, each generated by the clinic staff. The data they collect identifies key factors that contribute to problematic areas, guiding them toward successful resolutions. One key purpose of this process is to establish a common language and methodology for resolving problems.

"Our clinic teams are tackling challenges such as eliminating erroneous radiology orders, honing sterile instrument processing, minimizing patient wait times and provider interruptions as well as refining messages to help patients find parking and arrive on time for appointments," said Andrus. "Our refractive surgery clinic used the LDM process to add a preoperative prescription which has improved the quality and shortened the time required for a particular procedure."

After meeting at a conference, Andrus accepted an offer from Baptist Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Jon Turton to experience Lean Daily Management rounds at BMC in August of last year. In October, Andrus implemented LDM rounds and through continued collaboration, both sides have been able to share best practices and lessons learned in the rounding system.

"I was looking for an effective "Just Do It" process improvement methodology and I knew this was what I was looking for," said Andrus. "We have outstanding professionals at all levels and this was a process to discover and organize effort around the great ideas from every team member."

Each day following daily rounds, Andrus and his team briefly discuss each section's progress on toward its goals. During their visit, Turton and his team were able to share lessons they have learned that may work well here at Wilford Hall.

"I think it is important we have individual involvement - getting the Airmen on the front line of driving process change and improvement," said Turton. "At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what uniform we wear, civilian or military, we have similar goals."