Katie Castree 5 MAY 2020 ASQ VIRTUAL Presentation

Katie Castree, MHA, ASQ CSSBB – Operations Excellence Manager, Accumen

Tuesday, May 5, 2020 VIRTUAL Presentation

Reducing Laboratory Waste… and Saving Patients’ Blood!

In outpatient draw sites, inpatient hospital stays, and emergency room visits, nurses and phlebotomists frequently collect “extra” tubes of blood from patients in addition to those for lab tests that have been ordered by a physician or other provider. The perception is that these will later be used for “add-on” tests that a provider orders, saving the patient from a second stick…ouch! Do these extra tubes really get used for testing? If not, how much is wasted in time, supplies, money…and patient blood?

The answers to these questions may shock you. Through data collection and analysis, teams identified significant waste in the laboratory as a result of this practice. This session will walk participants through the actions taken in four example hospitals in order to reduce waste and improve patient care. Lean Six Sigma concepts will include the DMAIC framework, waste, Pareto analysis, control charts, and more. This session will be valuable and of interest to both healthcare and other industry participants.

Katie Castree, MHA, ASQ CSSBB – Operations Excellence Manager, Accumen

Katie Castree has been an Operations Excellence Manager for four years at Accumen, a healthcare performance partner that drives value for hospitals and healthcare systems to create high performing laboratory and imaging departments that improve quality, reduce cost, and enhance patient care. As an Operations Excellence Manager, she delivers measurable improvements in laboratories’ productivity, quality, and service metrics by implementing OpEx practices within client organizations. Prior to Accumen, Katie worked in performance improvement at Hospital Sisters Health System, most recently focusing on the HSHS Medical Group. Katie holds a Bachelor of Science in Community Health from the University of Illinois, and a Master of Health Administration from St. Louis University. She is an ASQ-Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB) and an AHRQ-Certified TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer. She is a frequent speaker at national and regional ASQ conferences, and is involved with the St. Louis Section of ASQ on the Leadership Committee and Conference Planning Committee.

ASQ St. Louis Section Monthly VIRTUAL Presentation

Tuesday, May 19, 2020
6:00 PM – 07:00 PM Central

Register today for the next ASQ St. Louis Section VIRTUAL Presentation at