About

Starting Semester: Spring 2024
Assigned: Yes
Location: Atlanta

Emory Healthcare Inc.

Client Profile

Emory Healthcare was founded in 1905. Emory Healthcare system is the largest healthcare system in the state of Georgia that comprises of 11 hospitals, the Emory clinic, and over 250 provider locations. As the premier academic medical center serving the residents of Atlanta, the organization is a resource for the most complex adult and pediatric cases. The workforce is comprised of over 25,000 employees working across various hospitals, physician practices, and medical groups.

Project Description

Emory University Hospital Midtown has experienced high turnover with the supply chain and sterile processing technicians. The operating room materials and sterile processing departments performance is critical to the delivery of quality patient care supporting the operating rooms, emergency room, labor delivery, electrophysiology, cardiac catheterization lab, and vascular centers within the organization. The goals of the operating room materials management are to optimize performance in meeting customer service requirements, providing quality products that contribute to positive patient outcomes, and minimizing cost adding to the organizational bottom-line.



Client Need:

Emory University Hospital Midtown is 511-bed acute care teaching hospital with 28 main operating rooms, two sterile processing department, pre/post- op care with the expansion Winship Emory Midtown (Winship Cancer Center) to include 10 additional operating suites. The organization has experienced challenges with inventory management related to lack of technology, workflow, work-alignment, stock-outs, just-in-time ordering, shortages, etc.

The objective of this project is to determine the future state interventions needed to improve the operating room materials management department, including the following questions:

• What is the appropriate structure, resources, and support needed to optimize performance;

• What is the level of service currently provided to customers;

• What gaps currently exist;

• What are the current departmental practices, behaviors, and preferences

• What training needs exist and opportunity for development.

Skills

Project Skills:
Process Improvement, materials management, data analysis, problem solving, Lean, Six Sigma, and High Reliability Principles.