Tweets That Brought Us Joy in 2016

We had a great year engaging with health care leaders on Twitter. Every week we had new positive surprises and were thrilled to see the evidence of leaders and staff learning how to put the patient first in their work — and tweeting about their wonderful outcomes. Below are just a few of the hundreds of tweets that brought joy and gratitude to our team the moment we saw them. Thank you, everyone, for welcoming us and working so hard to transform health care for your patients!

Learning that the inspection at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), in Shropshire, England, went so well — and that their dedicated staff members were recognized for their empowerment to make health care better — made our great year even better. Executive sensei Deborah Dollard said, “This team’s committed work on transforming their culture is paying off. The tools are important, but this attention to culture will leverage and drive improvements. Through leadership from their executive group, SaTH’s culture of kindness will give meaning and focus to daily work.”

Diane Miller, our executive director, felt honored to speak to this engaged, patient-centered audience in Nyborg, Denmark. Sensei Marlon Borbon said, “It’s great to see our clients’ excitement in their tweets and their clear commitment to putting patients first.”

Faculty member Chris Backous was bowled over by the creative ideas from this team in Bozeman, Montana, saying, “The team embraced the 3P method wholeheartedly with a passion for the perfect patient and family experience.”

We know that improvement work can feel overwhelming at times, and our whole office was inspired that this hardworking team at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust pushed through so many barriers to achieve meaningful outcomes.

We still haven’t gotten over the beautiful and accurate depiction of this team’s standard work — rendered on top of such a glorious cake. Rhonda Stewart, the sensei who worked with this creative team and even got to enjoy a slice of this dessert, told our team, “I love my job!”

Faculty members Megan McIntyre and Ellen Noel had great synergy with this team from Renown Health in Nevada. Megan said, “This workshop was so much fun! I still think about our great conversation around what an empowered kaizen promotion office produces.”

We loved learning that the team’s work at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust meant that patient wait times plummeted significantly. Sensei Cindy Jo Allen enjoyed every moment with this team, reflecting: “I was continually impressed by their curiosity to learn about their patients’ experiences and their bravery to try new things.”

We admired the elegance of this cardboard design as Iceland’s engaged team progressed in their creation of a new patient-centered hospital. Faculty member Chris Backous said, “Future-state care and space concepts came to life in clear and simple ways using plastic interlocking blocks and cardboard models. These simple tools allowed each team member to share their vision with other team members and the community in very understandable and inspiring ways!”

We enjoyed seeing so many enthusiastic leaders at the Health and Care Innovation Expo, in Manchester, England. Our sensei Rhonda Stewart could not stop smiling.

We loved learning that a sponsor at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), in Shropshire, England, was taken aback by such a dedicated team. Faculty member Ellen Noel responded: “Nonny Stockdale exemplifies what it means to be a professional nurse leading change. During the sponsor kickoff she shared a quote that those who survive through difficult times are the ones who are willing to change. How true!”

It was fun to interact with so many great leaders at this Missouri Hospital Association meeting. Faculty member Megan McIntyre said, “MHA is an awesome group of hospitals — so focused on improving patient outcomes! I hope to work with them again in 2017.”

We were thrilled that this hardworking team surprised their audience at report-out! Melissa Lin, the sensei who worked with them, was proud to stand with them.

We appreciated all the action, colors and energy in these photos. Faculty member Chris Backous said, “We were so impressed that this patient-centered organization used the 3P methods to take their patient- and community-focused plan to new levels. We’re excited to see this wellness campus come to life and serve the Tampa community!”

We loved learning that our courses in Seattle made clients so happy. Erica Cumbee, who teaches many of the courses in Seattle, said, “Even after a long, tiring flight from England, these clients have been fully engaged and committed — and they’ve made me want to give my very best to them in class.”

It was wonderful to hear clients share their achievements for their patients at the Health and Care Innovation Expo in Manchester, England. Sensei Rhonda Stewart commented, “The KPO leaders were very honest in their report-outs, sharing their personal learning along the way. They described experiences at their organizations a year earlier, how things had changed, and how much they’d learned and grown. It’s fantastic to be a part of their journey!”

Diane Miller, our executive director and an executive sensei, said, “We’re proud and honored to work with teams dedicated to patients and families.” Sensei Celeste Derheimer added, “It was such an honor to be involved in facilitating the sponsor sessions that launched this work. I’m so proud of everyone.”

It was inspiring to witness these energetic leaders create original ideas to solve problems in health care. Sensei Cindy Jo Allen said, “This multidisciplinary team challenged the status quo in order to bring information about patient safety to the right people at the right time.”

It was gratifying to learn that after a week with faculty member Chris Backous in a 3P, these Midwestern clients were ready to implement their ideas. Chris said, “We are thrilled with the outcome of this 3P and the lasting inspiration to always pursue the perfect patient experience. This vision is coming to life because the people who are acting on the vision are the people who created the vision!”

It was wonderful to learn how much the chief executive at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals HNS Trust was moved by his team’s amazing improvement work.

When we saw this health leader’s realization that a patient can reap a large benefit from a small but significant improvement to a health care process, we knew the great work would keep spreading. As faculty member Megan McIntyre said, “This is the heart of kaizen in 140 characters or less.”

This was one of many tweets from that made us happy to teach our most rigorous course, Advanced Lean Training. Faculty members Ellen Noel and Rosemary King were beaming when all the participants earned certificates. When Ellen saw this tweet, she said, “Jimmy continues to positively change the way behavioral health is delivered in Denmark — using lean methods to explore wasteful processes and engage staff in finding solutions to their everyday problems!”