Deployment leaders for the Rogers Improvement System find rewarding work
05/01/17 03:30:am
As Rogers teams tackle improvement efforts on system-wide care processes, the role of deployment leader is pivotal to making everything go smoothly.
Kent Franklin, Anna Meremable, and Sam Klinger work diligently to guide the change process by supporting employees and medical staff through Rogers Improvement System activities including Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs), Projects, and Just-Do-Its.
“I see this role as similar to my former clinical work as a social worker and addiction counselor; I provide a vehicle for positive change, using a model that works, while encouraging the people doing the work to make the change,” shares Sam, who recently stepped into the deployment leader role.
She was first involved as a participant in the Admissions and Transitions value stream and participated in an RIE on patient transfers throughout Rogers. “The best part is seeing a group of people coming together to solve a problem, with the common goal to improve processes, in order to provide a better patient care experience. Watching the changes positively impact patients and staff is very exciting.”
Kent, RIS System Deployment Director, also finds it rewarding to watch the success participants are seeing as they present their results to others and explain how they accomplished everything using RIS methods. He says it can be challenging to keep everyone on track, but it’s an incredible experience to help teams recognize problems and make them visible. Kent adds, “If there’s no problem, it’s a problem. No problems = no improvement.”
Anna admits the RIE weeks can be exhausting but she loves watching the teams work together throughout the week. “Everyone starts off the week not really knowing each other and being unsure of what to do, and by the end of the week, they are sad to leave each other and already planning team reunions,” she remarks.
More deployment leaders needed
Rogers is looking to expand the deployment leader team with people who have a passion to learn and help others learn and develop.
“We need people who love to figure things out and get to the real root cause of important problems,” Kent says.
Other job requirements are critical thinking, presentation skills, organization, time management, a sense of humor, openness to change, humility, respect for people, and being self-motivated.
Change is hard work, but oh so important!
“RIS is ultimately about making things better for our patients,” says Anna. Sam adds, “The Rogers Improvement System keeps patients at the forefront. It’s going to be the vehicle of change to ensure patients are receiving exceptional care that is consistent across Rogers. It also ensures the individuals doing the work have a voice in change and a responsibility to maintain the change.”
If you are interested in learning more about becoming an RIS deployment leader, contact Kent Franklin or Terri Schultz.
