A unit-based team improves service, reduces costs

January 22, 2008

The problem

Like a lot of managers, Linda Buchanan has to tend about 100 fires at a time. But in the summer of 2006, as assistant medical center administrator at Bellflower (Southern California) Medical Center, she faced an especially tough problem.

The 85 employees of Bellflower's medical records department were anxious over the coming of KP HealthConnect™. The system would bring new service and cost efficiencies to patient care—but 25 employees faced the loss of their old jobs as a result. Trust and collaboration within the department were in short supply.

"The staff was pretty frightened and angry about feeling displaced," Buchanan recalls. "But we all knew this was coming and wanted to prepare ourselves and the department as best we could."

The solution

"Utilizing the existing unit-based team was the best way forward," Buchanan says.

Buchanan and her labor partner at the time, Kareem Burton, a file clerk and steward with SEIU-UHW, assembled a 15-member team of frontline staff and managers—including file clerks from all three shifts, a courier and a data analyst—to guide the transition.

"The team got training in Interest-Based Problem Solving and had facilitated sessions in which we could address our medical center's goals and priorities, not just our department's goals," says Buchanan.

The team met twice a month for 16 months. They worked with managers and medical department chiefs on timelines for phasing out paper charts, and agreed on the number of staff that would be needed once KP HealthConnect™ was up and running. They also identified open positions elsewhere in the medical center, and conducted in-house job fairs for Medical Records employees to learn about job and training opportunities in other departments.

Once the new system was in place, the transition team disbanded. The department is now planning to relaunch a full UBT.

The results

The team helped achieve savings of $750,000 in costs over the department's 2005 budget—a 20 percent reduction.

While department staffing levels are about 30 percent lower than two years ago, workplace injuries have fallen by 85 percent—to just four a year from an average of 26 a year. And service levels are climbing.

Turnaround time to scan approved paper documents into the system is now 72 hours, as opposed to six weeks when the system went live in April 2006. Meeting the goal of a 24-hour turnaround is in sight.

All 25 Medical Records employees displaced by KP HealthConnect™ have found jobs within KP that pay as well or better.

Keys to success

"Communication and patience" made the difference, says Nick Palafox, quality control clerk in the department and Buchanan's current labor partner. "We gave people lots of information, were there to answer questions and clear up confusions. The team brought everyone to a greater understanding of what was happening and why. You can't make everyone happy, but the process opened up people's eyes to the fact that change can bring good opportunities, if you're open-minded and willing to take advantage of them."

Buchanan adds: "You have to focus on exactly what you want to accomplish. If you try to do a lot of everything, the team will accomplish very little."