Each year, one hospital and one medical group clinic is awarded the lightbulb trophy for having completed the most ideas per caregiver in their facility. The most recent winners:
- Intermountain Surgical Specialists received the Medical Group trophy with 18 ideas per caregiver. “Seeing ideas come to life gives us a sense of accomplishment,” Michelle Beers, senior practice manager. “I love empowering my team. By encouraging ideas, all caregivers get the opportunity to be a part of positive change for the team and our patients.”
- In Specialty-based Care, Bear River Valley Hospital came out on top with four ideas per caregiver. As an honorable mention, Orem Community Hospital came in at a close second place with 3.9 ideas per caregiver.
This is a “traveling trophy” and will likely change hands each year. Spanish Fork Hospital is in the lead right now with nearly half of the hospital staff having already completed at least one idea in 2021.
“Implementing ideas drives continuous improvement in our work environments and leads to better outcomes for our patients and members,” says Matt Pollard, MD, vice president of continuous improvement. “By recognizing those little things that interrupt workflow, you can offer ideas and work with your teams to implement creative solutions that make the work safer, simpler, and more effective.”
“Simple ideas that support our Fundamentals of Extraordinary Care lead to sustained improvement across our entire system,” Dr. Pollard says. “Implementing ideas with your team is a great way to connect and drive results in our caregiver incentive plan.”
The lightbulb icon on your desktop will take you directly to the idea entry screen.
Brandon Vonk, administrator of Bear River Valley Hospital, highlights this connection when everyone is aligned to common goals.
“It’s not just the idea that’s so powerful, it’s the fact that we have multiple minds addressing the needs of our departments,” Brandon says. “For example, an idea came from one of our maintenance engineers. We desperately needed to expand our kitchen, but I thought the options would be so incredibly expensive that my hope for expansion had plummeted. I had a chance to hear his proposal not long after having these feelings. Not only was the idea extremely creative, it was also extremely affordable. We essentially expanded our dock and moved our walk-in freezer outside. The square footage we gained still brings a smile to my face when I walk by that freezer every morning.”
Some ideas can take months or years to implement while many others can take just minutes. As ideas are entered into the CI Portal they become searchable for others experiencing similar challenges. This creates the potential to share best practices across our entire system.
Have you recently implemented an idea in your work area, big or small? Or maybe you’re thinking of an idea that can improve your work in some meaningful way. Enter your ideas in the CI Portal to help drive continuous improvement in your department—and for a chance to obtain the coveted lightbulb trophy. The lightbulb icon on your desktop will take you directly to the idea entry screen.