KELLEY NICHOLS: FOOD AND NUTRITION DEPARTMENT SAVES $1M
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Q: How has your department been involved with HMC benchmarking tools?
A: Our organization has utilized The HMC Operations Benchmark for approximately 5 years. Particularly, my department has used the Functional Cost Review and Span of Control Analysis as the driving forces for process improvement. Data from these HMC analyses has assisted my area in eliminating contract services, decreasing food costs, changing management structure, and forming self directed, clinical work teams over the last 3 years.
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Q: How has the benchmarking data assisted your area with process improvements?
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A: With data from the Span of Control analysis on management structure and from the Functional Cost Review on excess dollars of opportunity, we embarked on a cost management initiative that saved approximately $1 million with the elimination of a nutrition contract management company. In addition, we have realigned services to be patient focused and clinical in nature. As such, we decreased the size of our management structure – by more than 4 positions - and utilize self directed work teams that are responsible for human resource functions (such as hiring and disciplining employees) as well as meeting standards of performance that include a variety of quality measures and outcomes, peer reviews, budgeting, and multi-task functioning.
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Q: What other goals have been achieved in your area?
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A: We now have complete nutritional food services that are automated. It took 12 months to get the program implemented, but it is more patient focused and has resulted in a 15% reduction in food costs through more efficient inventory management.
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Q: How do you monitor performance improvement progress?
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A: Our goals include continuously evaluating our staffing model with spans of control that meet our needs as our business changes. We continuously face the challenge of communication. In our team approach, we need achievers – those self-directed, motivated individuals dedicated to working from expectations and meeting ongoing demands. We have to help the middle of the road individuals succeed. That is an ongoing challenge.
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Q: Would you like to explore any current areas of interest with other HMC Partners?
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A: We are always looking for comparable data to drive our process improvement. We are now interested in increasing patient satisfaction with the facilitation of efficient menu delivery and timely processing. In addition, we are interested in increasing our meals in the community. While we currently have a day care contract, we look to expand our food offerings and are seeking interesting ways others have done so while reducing the cost per meal.
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