Action Learning Labs

This innovative educational series in 2007 provided an opportunity to learn—up close and personal—how two very different health care organizations made notable strides in quality and patient safety.  In 1½ day, onsite, immersive learning labs, leadership teams from around the country interacted with both administrative and frontline leaders at Billings Clinic and Singing River Hospital System.  Participants took home proven strategies and methods for advancing quality and patient safety in their organizations—from experts in the field who have demonstrated real results.

Each lab site was selected based on information from private and public sources such as the Hospital Quality Alliance, review of the literature, and consultation with national health care organizations and industry executives.

Big Vision for the Big Sky: Keys to Transformation for Improved Patient Care
June 28-29, 2007 | Billings Clinic
Billings, Montana

Health care today must learn how to rapidly transform care delivery by adopting new technology and innovative ideas into daily practices with a focus on improved quality, safety, patient outcomes, and reduced cost.  Billings Clinic, a unique Integrated Medical Foundation Model located in a community setting, is emerging as a national leader known for transforming multiple parts of its organization to provide better care.  Billings is also known for utilizing information technology and innovative clinical effectiveness strategies to build a regional network that serves both urban and rural needs in four states.

In this Action Learning Lab, Billings Clinic's executives and clinical leaders described how a well-planned and executed transformational strategy can produce high-impact outcomes by focusing on the following critical success factors:

  1. Renewing the organization around a culture of service
  2. Harnessing collaboration to increase clinical quality and patient safety
  3. Leveraging technology to advance clinical improvement and strategic relationships
  4. Integrating research into the community to enhance professional practice and elevate health care delivery

Performance Improvement is a Team Sport: Communication, Relationships and Culture Change
November 8-9, 2007 | Singing River Hospital System
Ocean Springs and Pascagoula, Mississippi (Mississippi Gulf Coast)

The “human” side of health care is increasingly recognized for its vital role in health care performance improvement.  Communication, trust, values, relationships, culture, teamwork, and community engagement are important areas of concern to health care leaders.  Singing River Hospital System, located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is emerging as one of the best community hospital systems in the country because of its focus on these areas. 

Singing River's innovative work in building a high-performance culture based on communication, quality and community engagement has been the key to its impressive performance gains, leading to its recognition as a Solucient Top 100 Hospitals® Performance Improvement Leader for the past two years.  Its tight-knit workplace culture and strong ties in its community served the organization especially well during its recovery from the devastation brought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

This Action Learning Lab at Singing River Hospital System explored the dynamics of a high-performance culture that is based on communication and relationships and how it is leading to new levels of clinical and operating performance.

Click here to view presentations from Singing River Hospital System.
   

Supported by an educational grant from