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From the Director:
One of the Regenstrief Center’s unique characteristics is our systems-analysis approach to structuring and studying complex issues in healthcare, providing a basis to engineer new solutions in the delivery system. The research of Henry Kraebber and Mark Lawley, both highlighted in this issue, employ effective methods to analyze a healthcare network’s strengths, weaknesses, and the best opportunities to impact efficiency, safety, and quality.
Dr. Kraebber’s efforts advance the application of Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) to re-design processes of providing service to reduce or eliminate the potential of adverse outcome. FMEA provides an excellent methodology to utilize the growing body of patient safety information.
Dr. Lawley’s work represents a continuation of his studies of hospital operational effectiveness. Using the scenario of pandemic flu, Mark’s work helps to model how hospitals might work together within a community to provide additional patient care capacity at a time of unanticipated high census. We believe these methods have tremendous potential for widespread application and improvement throughout the healthcare system.
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Susan Morgan displays her organ donation card. More than 91,000 U.S. patients are currently waiting for an organ transplant. Read more. |
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People
> Henry Kraebber brings over 15 years of experience and leadership in manufacturing operations and quality management to the Regenstrief Center. More.
Projects
> Regenstrief Center research team aims to improve coordination of patient care in preparation for a potential pandemic. More.
> Workplace campaigns combat Hollywood myths about organ donation. More.
Partners
> St. Vincent Health Research Symposium
June 7, 2006; St. Vincent Indianapolis. More.
Progress
> Center for Advanced Manufacturing Summit;
Tuesday, May 23, 2006; Purdue University. More.
> Innovention 2006 – Indiana Health Industry Forum Conference
June 12-13, 2006; Indianapolis. More.
Publicity
> Chinese hospital delegation visits Purdue. More.
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Henry Kraebber brings over 15 years experience and leadership to the Regenstrief Center
With more than 98,000 deaths in the U.S. each year due to healthcare system adverse events, it is high priority for the healthcare industry to identify where these events occur most often and devise effective solutions. Henry Kraebber, Purdue professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology and Regenstrief Center Faculty Scholar, brings to RCHE over 15 years of experience and leadership in manufacturing operations and quality management to help healthcare providers eliminate defects, improve system quality and ensure patient safety.
Before joining Purdue as a faculty member in 1989, Kraebber’s work in the manufacturing industry included the development and implementation of manufacturing control systems and total quality concepts. Kraebber is currently working to advance the use of Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) through which errors are recorded and prioritized by severity, frequency, and the ability to detect and control them. This information can then be used to address potential system breakdowns before problems arise. This proactive approach can be tied in to hospital information and reporting systems, according to Kraebber.
“Other industries have used similar systems for years,” Kraebber said. “Failure Mode Effect Analysis has great potential for identifying areas in healthcare where the most significant improvements can be made. From eliminating medication delivery errors to preventing patient falls, the overall goal is to improve the quality and safety of patient care.”
Kraebber has also worked to strengthen ties between the Regenstrief Center and Purdue’s School of Technology. In February 2006, Kraebber organized a collaboration meeting between the two groups to highlight potential for future research and application. “In addition to contributing his own research, Hank has been instrumental in connecting the Regenstrief Center with the vast array of resources that the School of Technology has to offer,” said Steven M. Witz, director of the Regenstrief Center.
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| Regenstrief Center research team aims to improve coordination of care
According to Indiana projections, an outbreak of pandemic flu attacking 15 percent of the population, could cause more than 16,000 total excess hospital admissions over eight weeks. With a 35 percent attack rate, excess admissions soar to 39,000 (Indiana State Department of Health, 2006). In a state with just over 17,600 total hospital beds, such surges could cripple hospitals and clinics who are already operating at close to capacity.
A Regenstrief Center research team led by Mark Lawley, professor of industrial engineering at Purdue and RCHE Faculty Scholar, is working to determine how hospitals within the same network can coordinate patient care in the event of a surge to help balance the load. By working in advance to find efficient ways to transfer patients and share supplies and human resources, these hospitals will have a better chance to provide the necessary patient care during an outbreak.
In collaboration with St. Vincent Health in Indianapolis, the team is using simulation tools to map the hospital network and determine how the system will perform under different scenarios, including surges from a pandemic. The team can then apply hospital response plans to the simulation to evaluate their effectiveness and make necessary changes before an actual outbreak occurs.
The team is also applying queuing models to determine how long patients with various levels of illness would have to wait to receive care at different hospitals. This information can be used to reduce wait times and increase care by more evenly distributing patients and resources across the network, thus increasing the potential of timely care for more patients.
Ultimately, the use of these models is providing RCHE researchers with an inexpensive and relatively unobtrusive way to experiment with network capacity for a wide variety of scenarios, from natural disasters to extreme staffing shortages. St. Vincent can then use this information to adequately prepare for such spontaneous events.
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| Workplace campaigns combat Hollywood myths about organ donation
More than 91,000 U.S. patients are currently on the waiting list for a donated organ, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Over the last ten years, an average of 11,900 organs have been donated each year, not nearly enough to meet the need. As a result, 68 percent of candidates must wait over a year for a donated organ.
Susan Morgan, associate professor of communication and Regenstrief Center Research Associate, says that fictitious television and motion picture story lines focusing on black markets for organs or doctors who murder patients for their organs scare people away from donating organs.
To combat such myths, Morgan is providing tailored workplace campaigns through the New Jersey Workplace Partnership for Life. "As long as Hollywood continues to perpetuate misinformation, then we will need to educate the public one-on-one. And we're finding that the workplace is a great way to do this," said Morgan. The program is seeing positive results by utilizing each company’s intranet, newspapers, newsletters and posters to feature stories from co-workers about how organ donation has touched their lives.
Companies are interested in participating, Morgan says, because of the program's sense of community, as well as the potential to hold down long-term medical costs associated with keeping patients on a waiting list. What is learned from this project also could benefit other health-related initiatives in the workplace, Morgan says.
The project, supported by the Regenstrief Center and a $1.67 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, includes participation of 45 New Jersey organizations, including Johnson & Johnson, Fuji Film, L'Oreal Paris, Ethicon, Pathmark, Robert Wood Johnson Hospital and the New Jersey Department of Labor.
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St. Vincent Hospitals and Health Services to host its annual research symposium
The annual St. Vincent Research Symposium is set for June 7, 2006 at the Lilly Conference Center on the St. Vincent Indianapolis campus. The event will feature national and local speakers, workshops (from novice to advanced levels) and opportunities to see and hear about research at St. Vincent and with affiliate institutions. For more information, contact the SVH research department at (317) 338-2455.
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Center for Advanced Manufacturing Summit
The Regenstrief Center will present “Healthcare’s Role in Manufacturing” at the fifth annual Advancing Manufacturing summit, hosted by Purdue University’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing on May 23. The theme for this year's summit is “The Future of Midwest Manufacturing.” The Summit is free of charge and is open to all interested individuals.
National, state, and local leaders will provide their unique insights on the future of Midwest manufacturing including the challenges and opportunities as well as the requirements needed to succeed in this crucial economic segment. The morning session will feature addresses by noted national and state manufacturing leaders, and afternoon sessions include specific topic areas, including healthcare, legislation, globalization, and innovation. More information is available at www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/amap.
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Innovention 2006 – Indiana Health Industry Forum
Indiana Health Industry Forum will host Innovention 06, its annual health and life sciences conference on June 12-13 in Indianapolis. The conference, sponsored in part by Purdue University, connects hundreds of industry leaders across Indiana to promote collaboration.
The keynote address will be given by Tommy Thompson, Chairman Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and former Health and Human Services Secretary. Dr. Charles Rutledge, vice president for research at Purdue University, is a featured speaker at the event, and the Regenstrief Center will participate as an exhibitor. More information is available at www.ihif.org/innovention. back to top
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Chinese hospital delegation visits Purdue
Twenty-seven hospital officials from China visited Purdue University on April 19 as a part of a four-day visit to Indiana. The visit was organized by the China Hospital Association and the Bayer China Hospital Development Foundation, with the assistance of Sandra Liu, director of international training in Purdue’s Discovery Park and Bob Morr, vice president for the Indiana Hospital&Health Association.
The purpose of the delegation’s visit to the United States was to exchange views and explore topics of management and strategies in the healthcare industry with local experts. Steven Witz, director of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering, spoke to the delegation about the center's role in improving the delivery of health care by using the principles of engineering, technology and supply-chain management. The group also discussed comparisons on how the two countries structure their system to include access to healthcare providers, patient-care quality and provider payment.
In addition to visiting Purdue, the delegation met with staff and toured several Indianapolis medical facilities, including Wishard Health Services, the Indiana University Oncology Center, Community Health Network's North Indiana Surgery Center and the Indiana Heart Hospital. News release.
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