Lakes District Health Board's $89 Million Redevelopment Of Two Hospitals At Rotorua And Taupo Prompted Lean Business Improvement

Online, August 13, 2010 (Newswire.com) - (SAN DIEGO, CA) - In an interview with Business Review Australia, Cathy Cooney, Chief Executive of the Lakes District Health Board, describes how the redevelopment of two hospitals in the Lakes region of New Zealand prompted the board to introduce Lean thinking.

The $89 million project drove Lakes DHB to introduce lean thinking within the organization in 2007 to change processes and the way people work. Their approach to adopting the principles of lean thinking has been to take a long-term view and focus primarily on increasing lean knowledge and skills amongst staff with the goal of having every staff member focused on creating high value processes for delivering customer service. After applying the 5S: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain process, and completing value stream mapping, a number of positive outcomes have been delivered.

Cooney says, "It's all in line with lean thinking, which is reducing waste, adding value into the patient's experience and a more rapid turnaround for the patient." Read the full report at http://www.businessreviewaustralia.com/company-reports/lakes-district-health-board.

About Lakes District Health Board

Lakes District Health Board provides and funds healthcare services for the 102,000 people who live in the Lakes region of New Zealand. Lakes DHB operates two hospitals within the region-Rotorua and Taupo Hospital-but also provides funding for a range of public health services and activities in the community.