Simpler Consulting's Lean Management Approach Highlighted In New York City Health And Hospitals Corporation Book

PITTSBURGH, June 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Simpler Consulting, L.P., a leading global management consulting firm, applauds New York City  Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) on its new book, "Lean Behavioral Health: The Kings County Hospital Story." The book is the first to focus on the application of Lean management in behavioral health and features HHC hospital Kings County Hospital Center of Brooklyn, New York, one of the largest providers of behavioral healthcare in the country.

Lean management, with its roots in manufacturing, permeated healthcare organizations as a practical solution that maximizes an organization's ongoing ability to eliminate waste, improve the quality of care and strengthen the bottom line. For the last seven years, HHC has been working with Simpler Consulting to incorporate the transformational approach of Lean in its eleven hospitals and clinics. Kings County Hospital Center sought Lean management to remodel its processes to ensure a safe and clinically appropriate environment after a tragic death in its emergency room.

"When we started working with Kings County, there were very clear and defining challenges including a tragic death, a Department of Justice investigation and the need for improved communications between providers. By keeping patients our first priority, we have built an exciting new model of care that consistently works to improve and redesign our system," said Joseph P. Merlino, M.D., MPA, chief executive for Behavioral Health Services and director of Psychiatry at Kings County Hospital Center. "Developing this model was not easy, and it involved feedback from the community and a commitment from leadership, front line workers, clinicians and staff. But the feedback we have received from the New York State office of Mental Health and other oversight agencies has been excellent, and we believe our learnings will help others within HHC and other hospitals systems improve care."

In this book, readers will learn about:

• Principles of Lean and its use to transform behavioral health programs
• Challenges in adopting Lean management in behavioral health, as well as key learnings of what has or has not worked
• New Kings County model, and how it is being recognized as a center for transformation and quality

"New York City Hospitals and Health Systems has used Lean management to tackle even the most complex areas of patient care to improve quality and safety in its hospitals and health systems," said Marc Hafer, chief executive officer, Simpler Consulting. "The HHC behavioral health team's efforts to redesign care in the eyes of the patient will serve as a model for other leaders to come."

The book is edited by Dr. Merlino, Joanna Omi, chief innovation officer and senior vice president for Organizational Effectiveness at HHC, and Jill Bowen, PhD, senior associate executive director and chief of staff for Behavioral Health Services at Kings County Hospital Center.

The book is available to purchase at http://simpler.com/publications.html. All proceeds of the book go to The Fund for HHC, which supports innovative, effective and compassionate programs that help HHC care for New York City.  

About the Editors

Joseph P. Merlino, M.D., MPA, is the chief executive for Behavioral Health Services and director of Psychiatry at Kings County Hospital Center. He is also a Professor of Psychiatry at the State University of New York – Downstate Medical College and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at New York Medical College, Distinguished Life Fellow American Psychiatric Association and Fellow, American College of Psychiatrists.

Joanna Omi is chief Innovation Officer and senior vice president for Organizational Effectiveness at the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation.

Jill Bowen, PhD, is a Senior Associate Executive Director and Chief of Staff for Behavioral Health Services at Kings County Hospital Center.

About Simpler Consulting, L.P.

Simpler Consulting, L.P. is a leading global management consulting firm that helps companies improve processes to stimulate business-impacting results. Unlike traditional management consulting firms that specialize in developing strategy but fall short on execution, Simpler plays an active role helping clients to create an organizational culture that continuously seeks out opportunities to make improvements. With its proprietary Simpler Business System^®, Simpler® has delivered the fastest and most enduring Lean transformations at hundreds of organizations around the world. To learn more, visit http://www.simpler.com.

© 2014 Simpler Consulting, L.P.

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SOURCE Simpler Consulting, L.P.

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