As healthcare costs continue to rise and reimbursements become less, hospitals and healthcare providers are looking for ways to survive, grow and increase the quality of patient care. Lean management is a tool that hospitals and administrators can use to quickly respond to patient needs with high quality, improved service, lower costs, and fast turnaround times for the patient. Two Georgia Tech Professional Education courses will be held at Georgia Tech-Savannah this fall to educate about Lean and its benefits. Both courses are taught by Georgia Tech faculty and industry experts. Knowledge learned is immediately applicable in the workplace and can help a healthcare professional with career advancement opportunities.

On September 13, 2012, Lean Overview and Simulation for Healthcare (HLTH 3200) will be held at the Savannah campus. This introductory course will provide concepts, methods, and approaches of the Lean Management System to maximize customer value and quality while using fewer company resources. Healthcare examples, terminology, and process/patient flow models will demonstrate how the lean methodology may be effective. The course is taught by Dr. Richard Mitchell, medical director of Healthcare Performance Group in the Enterprise Innovation Institute at Georgia Tech, and Kelley Hundt, manufacturing systems project manager at the Georgia Institute of Technology Enterprise Innovation Institute. For more information or to register for this course, visit: http://www.gtpe.gatech.edu/lean-overview.

The Lean for Healthcare: Turnover Time Reduction Course (HLTH 1011) will be held on September 14, 2012 at Georgia Tech-Savannah. This course demonstrates concepts, methods, and approaches for reducing the amount of time to “change over” a resource such as admitting and discharging patients, operating room turnover, and other factors important to the efficiency of medical facilities. Less “change over” saves time and resources while providing increased patient and physician satisfaction. Participants in this course will complete a hands-on simulation of a hospital room turnover where they will identify and document steps/processes that can be eliminated in order to improve time and reduce costs. The simulation prepares students for real life experience. The course is taught by Kelley Hundt. For more information or to register for this course, visit: http://www.gtpe.gatech.edu/lean-turnover.

For a list of all upcoming Georgia Tech Professional Education courses in Savannah, visit: http://www.gtpe.gatech.edu/gts-fall.

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About Georgia Tech Professional Education

Georgia Tech Professional Education is an academic division of the Georgia Institute of Technology, which consistently ranks as one of the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. Professional Education offers professional master's programs, short courses, and certificate programs to meet the needs of working professionals and industry partners. Programs are available worldwide through a variety of face-to-face, blended learning, and online formats. In addition to professional course offerings, the division administers K-12 outreach and English as a Second Language programs, and manages meeting and event facilities. Professional Education serves and educates more than 3,100 companies and over 13,000 individuals on an annual basis, and is located at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center in Atlanta and at the Georgia Tech-Savannah campus.