The Value of Innovation

Chapter 10Measuring Impact

Hometown Care is a senior services organization in rural Pennsylvania. This long-term care facility is a skilled nursing and rehabilitative division associated with a retirement community that offers a continuum of care. The health center offers three levels of skilled nursing care: comprehensive, rehabilitative, and memory support. The facility consists of 90 beds and 168 employees. [1]

Healthcare organizations such as Hometown Care are constantly seeking ways to improve quality and efficiency through new and innovative initiatives. Along with this movement, return on investment (ROI) has also become a topic of interest across the healthcare system, particularly with top executives in this facility. Executives wanted to see the ROI calculation on three projects that were being undertaken by eight employees at Hometown Care. These projects used the concept of lean technology, which consists of a variety of tools and processes for problem analysis and measurement. These eight employees tackled three projects in the healthcare area. The first project involved dressing change delays and the concerns when a patient required a dressing change. The second project targeted times for short-term rehab discharge to home. The organization was experiencing delays when short-term rehab patients were discharged to home. The third project was a chart-to-go project and addressed the documentation system used by the certified nurse assistants (CNAs) to capture activities ...