Learn how multiple strategies to empower front-line teams can transform the organization. Involving front-line caregivers, food service employees, laboratory technologists, medical assistants and providers in any improvement is critical to success and sustainability. See how huddle processes, redesigns of areas and front-line-led projects can create engines of improvement in every pocket of the organization.
The role of leadership in most organizations is evolving. Akron Children’s Hospital lives by the credo, “process improvement through people development.” It’s the people that are doing the work that change the work! When a front line employee is seeking to make change, they can make simple changes every day, and they also engage in the A3 program. They get to help patients and families by making the hospital better and improve their own day in a meaningful way. Ultimately, they build a skillset to use for continuous improvement as well as furthering their career paths within the organization. Patients and families win due to improved experiences, less wait time, and smoother processes. Lastly, the organization gains benefits that range from financial saving (designing/renovating spaces with less change orders) to gaining capacity to see more patients.
Akron Children's Hospital is ranked among the best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. And to ensure families have convenient access to its pediatric care, there are two hospitals in northeast Ohio and more than 60 urgent, primary and specialty care locations. Akron also partners with other health systems to bring its neonatal and pediatric expertise to patients in their community hospitals. With more than a million patient visits a year, Akron Children's Hospital has been leading the way to healthier futures for children through quality patient care, education, advocacy, community service and medical discovery since 1890. www.akronchildrens.org
Anne Musitano serves in three roles at Akron Children’s Hospital. She is the operational excellence administrative director in the Mark A. Watson Center for Operational Excellence, a strategist for the innovation team, and is an ambulatory pharmacist. She leads alongside the OpEx team at Akron Children’s to help improve quality outcomes, enhance patient and family experiences, streamline operations, and drive financial impact. Musitano graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of pharmacy, a doctor of pharmacy, and a master of business operational excellence. She has a black belt in lean six sigma and is blue belt certified in innovation engineering. 
