What lean leaders do

Explore the various methods used to increase capacity in leader's schedules. Identify ways to measure your leadership team's capacity to develop people. Learn how leaders transitioned from a focus on value streams to gemba.

Learn how to identify a minimum of two hours each day of non-value activity by the use of leader standard work. Three Sutter Gould Medical Foundation directors will share their journey to eliminate non-value activities and replace with the value added activities of coaching and development of their teams into effective problem solvers. Hear how the organization started its lean journey in 2010 with a single value stream and to date have seven active value steams. Learn how, in addition to supporting the value streams, the leadership team continues to develop people through gemba visits, servant leadership and aim toward continuous improvement. The aim of these approaches is to unleash the intellectual power of every member of the team.

Sutter Gould Medical Foundation (SGMF) is a not-for-profit health care organization dedicated to providing the highest level of care for its patients. Over 280 physicians in both primary and specialty practices provide outpatient services for residents in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced communities. With care centers in Modesto, Stockton, and six other communities in the California Central Valley, SGMF is able to offer high quality medical care close to its patients. www.suttergould.org

Sandy Bellew is the director of health information management and call center at SGMF. She has additional responsibility for medical transcription services, CBX operations and the pharmacy refill center. She previously served as the HIPAA privacy officer.  While attending Sutter Health’s leadership academy, she presented the team’s capstone project on implementation of lean throughout Sutter Health. Bellew is the co-executive sponsor of the call center value stream which transitioned to 24/7/365 coverage without an increase in budget or staffing. Her leadership resulted in best-in-class performance for abandonment rate, grade of service and cost per call.

Asaad Abdelmalek is the director of primary care operations at SGMF. He leads, coaches and facilitates kaizen events, projects and A3 thinking. He also is responsible for program development and oversight for adult medicine, pediatrics, urgent care and occupational medicine. Abdelmalek obtained his MA in gerontology from San Francisco State University. He has also practiced as a licensed nursing home administrator.

Cindy Tumbarello is the director of integrated quality services at SGMF, responsible for the quality department, infection control, Coumadin clinic, clinical and non-clinical training, and community health education. Other responsibilities include program development and oversight, compliance and oversight with regulatory requirements, and executive co-sponsorship of the organization’s safety initiative. Prior experience includes registered nurse in various clinical and leadership roles. Tumbarello used lean approaches to make a 118 percent improvement in achieving 90th percentile in publically reported quality metrics. She received her doctorate in healthcare administration from the University of Phoenix.