Sources: David Ben-Arieh, 785-532-3724, davidbe@k-state.edu;
and John Wu, 785-532-3734, chw@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Tina Long, 785-532-3120, tinal@k-state.edu

Monday, April 11, 2011

WORKSHOP OFFERS PRESCRIPTION FOR IMPROVING HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS

MANHATTAN -- Helping hospitals and health care centers improve quality and manage costs in labor and staffing decisions is the focus of a workshop presented by Kansas State University's Health Care Operations Resource Center.

The workshop, Introduction to Work Force and Cost Management, is part of the center's Process Improvement Series and will be presented Thursday, April 18, at the K-State Alumni Center.

"Labor costs are one of the largest expenditures for health care operations," said David Ben-Arieh, center director and professor in K-State's department of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering. "Like any organization, successful operation involves effective utilization of those staff resources. In this workshop, participants will gain valuable insights and learn practical methods to increase productivity, improve staff quality and manage overall cost performance in this area."

The workshop is for hospital and health care center directors, quality leaders, quality management staff, nursing directors, management engineers, managers and administrators.

Doug Miller, informatics operations director with Premier Inc., will be the primary presenter. Miller provides guidance for the creation and utilization of tools, methodologies, service delivery and processes that support Premier's Performance Partners Program. He has presented topics related to health care work force management, waste reduction and performance improvement, and lean operations through the Healthcare Financial Management Association, Institute for Industrial Engineers/Society for Health Systems and Premier's Breakthroughs. He has led collaborative efforts on these topics and oversees internal staff training for lean and work force management.

John Wu, K-State associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, and Ben-Arieh will present their expertise on national data and trends, how waste reduction affects costs and revenue management methods.

Registration for the conference is $150 and includes all workshop materials, refreshment breaks and lunch. Participants have the option to purchase six continuing education units for an additional $10. Registration is available online at http://tinyurl.com/KSUHealth1 or by contacting the K-State Division of Continuing Education at 785-532-5569 or registration@k-state.edu.

K-State's Health Care Operations Resource Center is focused on improving the operations of health care systems by bringing together health care professionals, educators and researchers to assist health care providers to make better operational decisions, optimize their operation and maximize patient satisfaction as well as quality of care. Through projects and research, the center helps health care providers to become more competitive, and provide better, faster and less costly care.

Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 73,000-plus other health care sites. It uses the power of collaboration to lead the transformation to high quality, cost-effective care.