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November 27, 2014
“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
• Cold Weather Strategy
for those in need of
shelter
• World AIDS Day
• New Corporate
Wall Walk video
• Seasonal Influenza
campaign
(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.
“Just getting our feet wet”
JBA/RQHR Quarterly Review highlights
Region’s improvement progress
Not 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 stuff
Shelley 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.
Continued on Page 2
“Just getting our feet wet,” cont’d
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 clutter
The 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 breeze
Abdu, 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 5
Staff 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 together
That 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;
Joy Lekcharoen assists client Don
Richardson, her nursing supplies at hand.
Photo credit: Medical Media Services.
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-quarterlyreview.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.
November 27, 2014 - page 2
“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.
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.
NEW
Corporate Wall
Walk video
now online
The 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=A
OXARBflyvE&feature=y
outu.be or on the Intranet
at http://rhdintranet/rqhr/
StrategicFramework/
Corporate/
CorporateVisibilityWall.
htm.
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%20
or%20Mask%20Policy.pdf.
© Copyright 2014
Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region
e-link is published weekly by the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region.
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November 27, 2014 - page 3
Seasonal Influenza:
It is serious
Don’t forget:
Region celebrates 23 new Lean leaders
(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.
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.
26th Annual Prairie Artists
Guild Show and Sale
Friday, 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 Area
Presented by: W.R.C. Volunteers Inc.
PROCEEDS FOR: Residents and patients
of the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre.
www.prairieartistsguild.org
November 27, 2014 - page 4
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.