Twin Cities Hospitals Want to Copy ... Toyota?!

[chuckoverbeck]

When did nursing go from being a profession to being a unskilled trade? How can I respect a nurse who doesn't see value in what he/she offers and needs to join a union?

[bjm3986]

@chuckoverbeck How can you respect an administration who does't see the value in what nurses offer and need to hire people like you and "Toyota" to tell them how we should do our jobs? We are organized to protect our profession from the "business" sharks who see even hospitals and patients as dollar signs. Where is the humanity in for getting that this is a PEOPLE situation, not production!

[robertzoobomb]

@chuckoverbeck

Hi Chuck. The value of joining a union for nurses is to protect patients from predatory money hungry hospital administration.

[chuckoverbeck]

@robertzoobomb No it's not. Nurse's Unions don't care about patients any more than Teacher's Unions care about students.

Unions are a non-value add. They deliver nothing to health care and only suck money out.

[robertzoobomb]

@chuckoverbeck I am a nurse and I am fiercely committed the the safety and well being of my patients. Part of that commitment requires making systemic changes to the way that health care is delivered. Mandatory staffing ratios are a critical safety issue for both patients and nurses. Unions are the strongest force advocating that. So it is clear that nurses unions add value to patients lives by promoting safe conditions in hospitals

[chuckoverbeck]

@robertzoobomb I was raised by a nurse. She would never walk out on patients.

[robertzoobomb]

@chuckoverbeck

The big problem is that most hospitals and nursing homes are really bad. They treat employees and patients like crap. They don't do "continuous quality improvement". How do you suggest we provide incentives for better patient care and employee retention?

[robertzoobomb]

@robertzoobomb

Hi Chuck, I am guessing your not a nurse? We nurses protect peoples lives everyday. Good nurse to patient ratios save lives. The only people enforcing and promoting nurse patient ratios are the unions. Without a union, individual nurses have little power to make systemic change.

[mgraban]

32magic1971 - if you know anything about hospitals, you already know it's VERY dangerous without Lean/Toyota methods. Go research hospitals like ThedaCare in Wisconsin that are using Lean to reduce mortality and improve patient care. Lean makes things MORE safe. Google "Fox News Collaborative care video" for more. People are jumping to conclusions about Lean without researching it.

[32magic1971]

@mgraban I know plenty about hospitals. I have a wife and many many cousins, friends and a mother in law in nursing. Lean practices as they are wanting in the cities WILL BE VERY DANGEROUS. There are safe numbers of patiants and then there are the numbers the OVER PAID execs want to pass down the line.

[32magic1971]

I don't want to go to a hospital that wants to blueprint itself after Toyota, we see how thats working for them. Imagine all the issues there will be with patient care under the "Toyota model". We will see MANY more preventable deaths in a hospital setting than we are seeing with Toyota cars. Look at the numbers and you will see the priorities of the hospital management is out of whack. I say lets admit management to the hospital and have them receive average care, no special treatment.

[bjm3986]

@32magic1971 I agree! Maybe they're OK with being "recalled".

[mgraban]

There's some misleading stuff in here. Seeing 60 patients a day instead of 35 doesn't mean everyone is working twice as hard. With Lean, waste and problems are eliminated from the process by engaging staff (including nurses) - the use of the stopwatch is to help identify barriers to providing patient care, not to force people to run faster or work harder.

[bjm3986]

@mgraban You have never actually followed a nurse going from 35 to 60 pts. People like you forget that each pt is a different situation, an individual, not a DRG.

[mgraban]

@bjm3986 35 to 60 patients, what are you talking about? I agree patients should be treated as individuals, you want to lump lean advocates into "people like you" categories -- what is that all about? You don't know me, don't make assumptions.

[mgraban]

@bjm3986 I thought we were talking about Lean, but y'all are obsessed with executive paychecks apparently. Research hospitals like ThedaCare, where nurses are working in teams with pharmacists and doctors to improve patient safety through Lean -- mortality has decreased, med reconciliation errors are virtually zero... saying Lean will definitively harm patient safety is out of touch with reality.