TCARE Idea Fair
Kaiser Permanente Patient Care Services launched TCARE: Transforming the Care Experience to enhance the care delivery experience from both a patient and a staff perspective. IDEO, an internationally recognized design firm, helped set up the framework and approach for TCARE. Using IDEO’s ideation process and innovation methodology, teams of frontline staff find effective ways to carry out tasks and replicate successful solutions.
The TCARE team hosted an Idea Fair on October 7th at the Argonaut Hotel in San Francisco to celebrate the teams’ achievements. Eighty TCARE team members, AAPCS’s and Service Directors convened for the full-day event. The event “allowed TCARE teams to celebrate successes and exchange information about prototypes,” according to Lanier Coles, the Northern California TCARE Project Manager.
Teams from several participating facilities attended the Fair: Santa Rosa, South Sacramento, and Walnut Creek, as well as a southern California project manager from Panorama City. Representatives from Roseville’s Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) initiative were present to share their two years of experience with workplace innovations. Several AAPCS’s and representatives from other facilities were also present to learn about the TCARE process.
Marilyn Chow and Anita Zuniga kicked off the program as key note speakers, presenting the history of innovation within Kaiser Permanente, and TCARE’s successes to date. They cited the continued progress and the cultural changes coming within Kaiser Permanente, and expressed the hope that such progress spreads and continues to develop into a culture in which frontline staff are empowered and engaged.
Representatives from Roseville’s TCAB team presented thefrontline staff’s work in developing hourly safety rounds to check on patients and systems in their facility, as well as rapid response teams. South Sacramento’s TCARE team spoke about the transformation in their staff culture, and presented several prototypes they had developed. The most popular item from their group was a “hospitality basket” containing ice cream, magazines and other comforts that staff present to patients each afternoon. They also showcased a new magnetic urinal holder which attaches to the patient’s bedside, providing a convenient and sanitary location for the urinal.
“Seeing the pride with which Kaiser’s leaders looked on the teams was very positive,” observed Angela Killilea, a member of the cross-regional project management team. Later in the day, the Idea Fair opened up their Gallery Walk, a “science fair” presentation of the top three ideas from each team. Participants from each facility were on hand to present sample prototypes and to answer questions about their innovations.
The Care Board, TCARE’s first “high-value” prototype, was unveiled at the Idea Fair. Designed by the four TCARE pilot teams, the Care Board is an information board for Med-Surg rooms that facilitates communication of care activities between care providers, patients, and family members. The teams sought input on the board’s design and promised to integrate the group’s feedback and get it into production by the end of November. “Everybody is so motivated by it,” explains Diane Bosquez, the Interim Cross-Regional Manager, adding that the assembly provided “a lot of validation that we were on the right track.” Many of the groups expressed an interest in ordering the Care Board as soon as it was completed and available.
The group then took up the next steps for TCARE implementation, identifying success factors with project managers, and expressing their satisfaction with the TCARE experience. They discussed what would be needed from Regional and Cross-Regional groups in order to move forward, as well as how to promote and spread the methodology to units in other medical centers. “Participating in the Idea Fair was very transformational for front-line staff,” Lanier explained, having observed the South Sacramento team. “The care teams feel very valued and excited about the new products and their ability to improve patient care.” added Diane.