CPHQ News
Northeastern NC Partnership for Public Health Applies Lean Principles to Improve Public Health
"Lean is a win-win," stated Roxanne Holloman, Health Director for Beaufort County. Along with Ms. Holloman, Annah Poteat-Godwin and Gene Smith from the Industrial Extension Service at NC State gave a presentation at the North Carolina Public Health Association (NCPHA) annual meeting to celebrate the successes of applying Lean methods in the Northeastern NC Partnership for Public Health agencies.
 Current State Process Map (a Lean tool) Courtesy of Dare County Health Department and IES |
In 2007, the Northeastern Partnership began looking at ways to make their business practices more efficient. During their research they uncovered the principles of Lean. Lean is a quality improvement (QI) method that has demonstrated proven results in many major corporations such as Toyota. It provides a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste through continuous improvement.
In 2008, the Northeastern Partnership met with Ms. Poteat-Godwin and Mr. Smith to learn more about Lean and to determine if they could apply it in their local health agencies. "I as sold that Lean was something that could help us be more efficient," said Ms. Holloman. She was so impressed with the results that she volunteered to pilot test Lean in the Beaufort County Health Department.
By June 2009, the ten local health agencies in the Northeastern Partnership (including Beaufort, Warren, Halifax, Northampton, Hertford, Martin-Tyrell-Washington, Edgecombe, Albemarle Region, Hyde, and Dare counties) had successfully completed a Lean project.
 Before  After Courtesy of Dare County Health Department and IES |
As a result of these projects, local health departments saw improved outcomes including a:
- Decrease in Home Health processing from an average of 45 days to 7 days
- Decrease in wait time for clients in the Family Planning Clinic from 3.5 hours to 1.5 hours
- Decrease in turn-around time to complete the morning scheduling process for home care visits from 120 minutes to an average of 60 minutes
Other improvements included organized works stations and supply closets which helped to improve efficiency (pictures to the right). Additionally, staff morale was improved. One health director asked her staff to comment about their experience. Staff said that Lean was "a useful, helpful process", and showed that "small changes can produce very positive and productive staff and more satisfied clients." Others thought it "created an improved environment and positive relationships" and "helped staff understand roles of others."
These results have created great enthusiasm and excitement among staff within the Northeastern Partnership. Their success is a great example of how QI can help local health departments provide more efficient and effective services to their community. As Ms. Holloman stated, "Continuous QI must be part of the way we do business in public health."
The NC Center for Public Health Quality is available to help your health department learn and apply QI. We can connect you to QI resources, tools, and educational opportunities. Please explore our website to learn more about QI, the Lean methodology, and the launch of the new QI 101 course which will include Lean methods.