Hospital Swap: Trading Places Update
Sandy Kowalski, Memorial Lean Practitioner/Six Sigma Black Belt; Greg Lossaso, President of Elkhart General; Maria Gonzalez, Epworth Environmental Service Coordinator; Candace Andresen, Director of Memorial Emergency Care Center; and Shirley Thomas, Epworth Housekeeping, take part in a Gemba walk at Memorial Epworth Center.
Elkhart General President Greg Losasso and Memorial President Kreg Gruber are proving the experiment of trading offices, calendars and responsibilities is a success. Two weeks into the “Trading Places” experience and neither president has gotten lost in their counterpart’s hospital.
“I think there are people looking out for me and pointing me in the right direction,” says Greg. Kreg, meanwhile, thanks Dave Furlong at Elkhart General and his Magellan ways for keeping him from getting lost.
What they’ve enjoyed the most about the experience that runs through March has been the opportunity to meet new people and the proverbial “putting a face with a name.”
This new dynamic learning experience has highlighted ways in which the two hospitals can collaborate, leading to best practices and standardization that will enable us to be a top health system. Several areas of collaboration that can only help Beacon become stronger include: New Associate orientation; formats for Board/Medical Staff meetings; cardiology programming;?and a standardized regulatory body.
Renee Pugh, Nursing Education Manager; Kreg Gruber, President of Memorial Hospital; Kim Dimos, Oncology Nurse Manager; and Lorna Stahler, Manager Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit and Center for Joint Replacement, deliver muffins to Elkhart General’s Oncology Unit
The hospital swap has reinforced what the two leaders already knew about our two outstanding hospitals.
“Great people choose health care as a career, and both organizations are full of great people,” says Kreg.
Says Greg, “Elkhart General and Memorial are more similar than dissimilar. The processes and verbiage may be a little different, but we both take pride in what we do.”
