A “LEANER” Business Environment – FingerLakes1.com Archive

Ignite Worldwide, Inc. was chosen by Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic to train their staff on using the practices of Lean Six Sigma. The overall mission of this training was to improve processes within the organization and leave the hospital with the necessary tools to provide the highest quality of service, both internally and externally. Ignite provided training with area experts; Ray Justice from Brabon-Justice, Inc. who specializes in “Change Behavior,” Tim Shortsleeve who focused on the “Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” and Juliun Brabon, a black belt in Lean Six Sigma who worked with the team on “The 5 S’s” (a Lean Six Sigma Tool). In conjunction with Ignite’s training, Rochester Institute of Technology also provided a portion of the yellow belt training of Lean Six Sigma. Clifton Springs received a training grant through Rochester Works for a grant to fund this training.Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic is a 262-bed not-for-profit specialty care hospital in the heart of the Finger Lakes. Founded 158 years ago, the hospital focuses on primary and acute care not limited to: Emergency and surgical care, primary care, cancer care, addiction recovery and behavioral health care, diabetes education, complementary and alternative medicine, hyperbaric wound care, joint replacement and Nursing Home Care. They are one of the largest employers in Ontario County; yet conduct most of their business in a village of fewer than 2,500 people.The interdisciplinary team that was chosen to partake in this training was comprised of leadership and policy makers. There were four directors and five direct care/support staff. The group that was chosen was a very sophisticated group that saw the wisdom and value of Six Sigma. “Working with Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic was a great project for us. It’s essential to work with a group that takes ownership of the project to ensure success; the team we worked with at Clifton Springs did exactly that! They easily adapted the principles of Lean Six Sigma and had a vision to see way beyond the projects we assisted them with to move forward even after the training was complete,” states Wendy Brabon, CEO of Ignite Worldwide.Ethan Fogg, Director of Community Relations and Foundation for the Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic expresses that, “We knew [Ignite Worldwide] and trusted their work. Wendy was fantastic, she never skipped a beat! She was very intuitive to our needs and desires. We find that the entrepreneurial elements of Lean Six Sigma can blend well with the not-for-profit model.”