At Thibodaux Regional Medical Center (TRMC) in Louisiana, an increase in pressure ulcers rate in the last quarter of 2003 and the second quarter of 2004. Having started with the Six Sigma initiatives since 2001, the center knew that they could reduce the rate using Six Sigma.
Thus in 2004, a Six Sigma project team was formed to address this problem. The project team included a Black Belt, enterostomal therapy registered nurse (ETRN), medical surgical RN, ICU RN, rehab RN and RN educator. Their vision was to be the “Skin Savers” by resolving issues leading to the development of nosocomial pressure ulcers. Read more…
What TRMC did to improve its pressure ulcers rate showed the importance of verifying underlying causes using valid data. According to Sheri Eschete, Black Belt and leader of the pressure ulcer project at TRMC:
“Six Sigma provided us with the tools to get to the real problem so that we could make the right improvements. There had been a perception that not turning the patients often enough was the issue, but the data revealed that it was really the frequency of the Braden Scale. Leveraging the data helped us to convince others and implement appropriate changes.”
Source:
iSixSigma, “Using Six Sigma to Reduce Pressure Ulcers at a Hospital”
