Virginia Mason Medical Center is a healthcare facility in Seattle, Washington. In 2000, the hospital was on the verge of collapse due to financial constraints, a demoralized workforce, and stiff competition from nearby facilities (Kaplan, 2020). The then CEO stepped down, and Dr. Gary Kaplan took over the center’s management. Dr. Kaplan was entrusted to strategize his leadership and ensure progressive growth. At a personal level, Kaplan set his goals of making Virginia Mason Medical Center the leading care provision facility.
What Dr. Gary Kaplan was trying to achieve at Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC) was changed. Kaplan envisaged VMMC’s transformation to a top facility and sought to lead it to this vision (Kaplan, 2020). These goals were, however, difficult to attain as they needed a precise tool that could be used. Despite the challenges, Kaplan’s administration’s team has been recognized for introducing industrial trends in the medical field in the last decade. Kaplan embraces a collaborative team approach in offering care and a unique culture of patient management at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Gary was also seeking to find all gaps hindering care provision at VMMC. He, therefore, started with Value-stream mapping, which assessed the workflow at VMMC.
Value-stream mapping consisted of all facility details such as patient check-in, visits, and inventory and equipment. This scheme was aimed at monitoring the facility operations and resources diligently, and as a result, this could help in managing the facility’s finances (Kaplan, 2020). Further, through the TPS models, Dr. Kaplan sought to maximize patient satisfaction and outcomes. The model was adapted from the automotive to improve medical practice. The TPS creativity worked through appropriate waste elimination and improvement efficiency (Kaplan, 2020). DR. Gary, in this program, was also seeking to strengthen the workforce morale by freeing their schedules and giving them for family interactions and academic endeavors.
References
Kaplan, G. S. (2020). Defining a new leadership model to stay relevant in healthcare. Frontiers of Health Services Management, 36(3), 12-20. Web.