Society for Health Systems Newsletter

November 2010 Visit the Society for Health Systems Website

Mark Your Calendars!

Society for Health Systems Conference & Expo 2011
Feb. 17-19, 2011

Peabody Hotel

Orlando, FL

================

================

SHS CORPORATE ALLIANCES

A corporate alliance with SHS is a proven way to offer opportunities for growth to your employees, develop your organization, build the industrial engineering profession and drive bottom line results.

Start realizing value and begin to experience the SHS difference now.

Contact Doug Long, SHS Director of Strategic Alliances

================

Contribute to the Newsletter!

The SHS newsletter team is always on the lookout for new content relevant to professionals working in the healthcare improvement field. To contribute articles, interviews, book reviews, presentations, or to make staff aware of members in the news, ideas for future content, or other newsworthy content please contact Bart Sellers.

============
Society for Health Systems
Members!
Save 40% or more

on Training
Six Sigma
Lean
Lean Six Sigma
Other healthcare
courses
Offer good
Sept. 1- Dec. 31

Visit Our Website For Discount Course Details

Using Lean to identify process improvement opportunities and improve effectiveness of blood transfusion

By Susan F. South, Senior Consultant, ValuMetrix® Services and Jo Ann S. Hegarty Worldwide Marketing Director, ValuMetrix® Services

Susan South and Jo Ann Hegarty provide a description of improvements in blood transfusion processing by applying Lean concepts at 14 different laboratories in three different countries. Average savings per site was over $190,000 excluding savings associated with improved inventory management. To read the entire article click here.

================================================

Michigan hospitals turning to lean process improvement

A recent article in Crain's Detroit Business describes how lean process engineering is being used to make improvements at a number of Michigan hospitals including the University of Michigan Health System. According to the article a number of Michigan hospitals have hired ex-automotive engineers to anchor their lean teams. The article notes that the Michigan Health and Hospital Association is facilitating a two-year lean process improvement initiative to improve ED efficiency and quality. To read the entire article click here.

===============================================

SHS Sponsors Facebook Page

The Facebook page will be a valuable resource for students to connect to professionals in the industry, connect with other students pursuing a career in health care, and gather information about the society and how to become more involved. Joining the Facebook page will be a quick and easy first step to get involved in the fast growing field.

How to Sign up for the Page (you must have a Facebook account to contribute)

SHS Facebook Image

· Log-in to Facebook

· Search for "Society for Health Systems"

· Click on the Facebook page that looks like the image above, the one that lists the type as "Professional Service"

· Click on the "Like" button, located next to the name, to join the page

· Once you join the page, contribute to the discussions section

================================================

Society for Health System annual scholarship applications due Dec. 1

SHS scholarships are available to undergraduate students enrolled full-time in any school in the United States and its territories, Canada and Mexico, provided: (1) the school's industrial engineering program or equivalent is accredited by an agency or organization recognized by IIE; and (2) the student is pursuing a course of study in industrial engineering and operations research with a definite interest in the area of healthcare. The amount of the scholarship is $1,000.

Students may not apply directly for the scholarship. They must be nominated by IE department heads, IIE student chapter advisors, IE faculty or by SHS board members, SHS diplomates or SHS senior members. Applications must be received at IIE headquarters on or before Dec. 1.

Click here for more information

Click here for the nomination form

=============================================

SHS member and researcher featured in U.S.News article on improving healthcare

A recent online article in U.S.News/Science section asks what healthcare can learn from the much maligned airline industry. SHS member and Professor at Northeastern University, Jim Benneyan, answers this question in part with some research done under a National Science Foundation grant. The grant was awarded to the Center for Health Organization Transformation, a multi-university National Science Foundation center involving Northeastern University, Texas A & M Health Science Center and Georgia Institute of Technology, in partnership with a growing number of prominent health care systems and hospitals across the nation. To read the entire article click here.

===============================================

Purdue IE professor working to demonstrate importance of IE role in healthcare improvement

According to the Purdue University IE website, Yuehwern Yih, a professor in Purdue's School of Industrial Engineering and director of Smart Systems and Operations Laboratory is convinced that an IE approach can effectively address the many challenges and failings in worldwide healthcare delivery. Yih and her students are currently working with the Mayo Clinic to improve chronic care management of diabetes as one area of focus. To find out more about Professor Yih and her work at Purdue click here.

=================================================

Use this area to provide your contacts information about your organizatio