RIT Establishes New Center for Healthcare Quality Improvement

Healthcare quality, its cost and accessibility are major concerns for healthcare systems in Rochester and across the nation. More than 40,000 people die each year from medical errors and the cost of care is steadily increasing. Emergency departments are stressed, inadequately staffed, with long waiting times and increasingly crowded emergency rooms.

The Center for Healthcare Quality Improvement (HQI) has been created to support collaborative efforts in Rochester to improve quality and increase the efficiency of the healthcare process. Established as part of RIT’s Center for Excellence in Lean Enterprise (CELE) at the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, HQI is collaborating with the University of Rochester Medical Center, the Rochester Health Commission, the Monroe County Medical Society and the IMC.

HQI provides education and training, networking, success sharing and project facilitation with a focus on continuous process improvement: Six Sigma, lean thinking and systems concepts. Two upcoming events kick-off the new center:

A Healthcare Quality Improvement talk covering tools to improve healthcare quality, access and cost will be presented by Dr. Elisabeth Hager. Hager is President of the Monroe County Medical Society and senior project manager at HQI. This free overview is on Thursday, Oct. 4, from 7:30–10 a.m., at the IMC, 930 East Avenue. A continental breakfast is included and registration is required. Call 244-1800.

HQI is also hosting a regional Healthcare Quality Improvement conference, Nov. 8 and 9, at the RIT Inn and Conference Center (formerly the Thruway Marriott). The conference will demonstrate effective use of quality improvement tools in healthcare, how to get more out of such tools already in use, developing individual action plans, multi-organizational improvement techniques and networking opportunities. Participants will learn how to remove waste, increase access and build capable, patient-centered clinical and health administrative processes.

Interactive sessions presented by local practitioners will build on each other from basic quality improvement concepts, understanding how to deal with obstacles, and ways to begin driving change locally.

The cost is $195 per person, $175 per person for groups of three or more. 

"HQI’s mission supports the broad community initiatives to improve the quality, cost and access of healthcare in Rochester," says Elisabeth Hager, M.D., senior program manager. "It is imperative that, as a community, we face the problems pressing healthcare and find innovative solutions to correct the situation."

RIT’s Center for Excellence in Lean Enterprise (CELE) is dedicated to helping manufacturing and service businesses apply proactive lean enterprise principles. CELE is a business unit of the RIT Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies (CIMS), a world-class organization with a mission to increase the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers through applied technology and training.