Participant, Kootenay Lake Hospital Emergency Department Rapid Process Improvement Workshop

Have you or your family experienced the unfortunate need to visit the Emergency Department? Kootenay Lake Hospital is looking to improve the flow for patients presenting to the Emergency Department, and needs the patient voice to do so. If you have an interest in improving patient flow in the ED, we need your input.

Open to: Patient partners who access Kootenay Lake Hospital Emergency Department

Lead Organization or Department

Interior Health Lean Promotion Office

Aim

The goal of this project is to improve process flow and communication of patient care needs from the time a patient is assigned a space in the Emergency Department to the time the patient leaves the unit. The role of the patient partner is to help us better understand the patient perspective when being cared for in the Emergency Department.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of involve on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will involve patients in planning and design phases to ensure ideas or concerns are considered and reflected in alternatives and recommendations.

Eligibility

• Experience as a patient in the KLH Emergency Department
• Comfortable working in large groups (up to 20 people)
• Able to tolerate 4.5 days in an interactive meeting environment
• Able to generate and share ideas for improvement

If you have a strong interest in this work but have not yet completed a PVN orientation and Volunteer Agreement, are unsure if your experience is a good fit or feel another format of engagement would work better with your availability, please contact the engagement leader directly

Logistics

• Vacancies: 2
• This is a 5 day event using Lean methodology, called a Rapid Process Improvement Workshop (RPIW)
• Dates are: April 16-20/2018 at KLH
• Mon - Thurs 0800-1600. Friday 0800-1200.
• Initiative format: Workshop
• Commitment: One time

Reimbursement

Mileage and cost for lunches will be reimbursed as per Interior Health process.

Background

It has been recognized that there is opportunity for improvement in patient flow through the Kootenay Lake Hospital Emergency Department. Supported by 2 facilitators, a group of clinicians, physicians, support staff, patients and leaders will come together for 5 days to learn Lean process improvement concepts, illustrate the current process flow, generate ideas for improvement, and test those ideas during the week. A detailed action plan will be created and used as reference during the 30, 60, and 90 days following the event, supporting idea follow through and outcome sustainability. Lean concepts, and a rapid process improvement workshop (RPIW) focus on process improvements that eliminate waste, add value, and put the patient first. An RPIW is designed around the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) method, empowers and engages staff to make their work areas better, and provides protected time to accomplish the work. There may be a risk that suggested ideas put forward cannot be operationalized based on priorities and resources available to the facility. To mitigate that, boundaries will be clearly defined, and limitations will be clarified at the beginning of the planning process. Ideas that cannot be put in to action in association with this project will be placed in a "parking lot" and brought forward as applicable.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Jacquelyne Foidart
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Thompson Cariboo
250.879.1077
jfoidart@bcpsqc.ca