Our Lean Journey: Opening a Hospital with a Model of Lean

摘要

Like many hospitals, Texas Children's Hospital system is growing. What sets our hospital apart is our focus on not only world-class patient care, but also fiscal responsibility to our patients and families. With the opening of the newest hospital in The Woodlands, TX, Texas Children's embraced the opportunity to not just expand, but optimize. The community hospital includes an emergency center, acute and intensive care units, 4 state-of-the-art operating rooms, and an attached outpatient building with over 23 subspecialty clinics and a Texas Children's Pediatrics practice. Combining systems engineering and Lean tools with other process improvement methodologies created a powerful platform to enhance the hospital activation process. In this document we will describe the roadmap to opening a Lean hospital, including replicable systems and structures as well as concrete tools.