An interview with Rosemary King, faculty member at Virginia Mason Institute In your career as the first director of the Kaizen Promotion Office at Virginia Mason, and then a clinical director of perioperative services, how has lean work made a difference to improve patient care? RK: Soon after we started our lean journey, more than fifteen years ago, Virginia Mason was taking on the translation of the Toyota Production System to...
How Can Standardizing Surgery Tools Prevent...
Recent Blog Posts
The Best Way to Approach Never Events

An interview with Ellen Noel, faculty member at Virginia Mason Institute When you think of never events, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? EN: I look at...

Is It Possible to Fix Broken Systems and...

For health care organizations everywhere, patient safety is a top concern. But how can an organization go from being vigilant about safety to actually fixing the...

Pain Huddle Leads to Less Medication, Lower...

From the front line to the boardroom, nurses are a valuable resource in solution-oriented health care. Their unique professional training and their role as...

Glossary of Lean Terminology

3P – Production Preparation Process, a five-day event in which a team focuses on building a production system for a new plant, process or product. 5S – A strategy...

Analyzing the “Big Idea”: Extending the Success...

An Interview with Robert Mecklenburg, MD, Center for Health Care Solutions, Virginia Mason Institute In Harvard Business Review’s article “The Employer-Led Health...

How Can You Spread Standard Work Successfully?

It’s official. Your small team in primary care has developed new standard work and your team’s clinicians and staff members have been trained. When you’ve measured...

Making Your New Space Work for Your Team

“Furniture is what people buy. Flow is what people create and what adds value to your organization.” – Chris Backous, MHA Using teams to create a new patient...

Capturing the Patient Voice

What if You Knew Exactly What Your Patients Were Thinking or Feeling? Millions of patients seek medical care in the United States each day. Capturing the stories...

Implementing a Real-Time Visual Monitoring System...

Problem Like so many other hospitals and medical groups, Virginia Mason grappled with how to help clinicians improve their performance. Typically, physicians...

Selected Resources

Healthcare Improvement Insights

Explore articles, case studies, and research that help healthcare leaders drive sustainable improvement.

Mistake Proofing in Ambulatory, Procedural, and ...

Mistake Proofing in Ambulatory, Procedural, and ...

Welcome to our blog miniseries: Transforming Healthcare, featuring some of the biggest takeaways ...

Mistake Proofing in Ambulatory, Procedural, and Inpatient Care

Welcome to our blog miniseries: Transforming Healthcare, featuring some of the biggest takeaways ...

Culture of Care

Culture of Care

Explore how equity-focused improvement, coaching and lived experience can strengthen staff ...

Culture of Care

Explore how equity-focused improvement, coaching and lived experience can strengthen staff ...

Bridge to Excellence with Three Rivers Hospital

Bridge to Excellence with Three Rivers Hospital

Join host Brenda McLeod in conversation with Jamie Boyer, German Meza, and Karen Gifford about ...

Bridge to Excellence with Three Rivers Hospital

Join host Brenda McLeod in conversation with Jamie Boyer, German Meza, and Karen Gifford about ...