PLEASE NOTE: THE JANUARY 23 LA CROSSE MEETING HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR MARCH 5.
In the tough economic environment today, all corporations emphasize Lean Thinking to remove wastes and improve efficiency. Lean thinking focuses on identifying value stream, determining value flow, and improving process. The A3, one of the process improvement tools, is famous for Toyota Motor’s success in relentlessly improving its operational efficiency. Many people view A3 reports as a problem-solving technique, a simple communication tool, or a management process.
In this presentation, the attendees will learn the following:
- What Lean Thinking is
- How to apply A3 tool and engage front line staff in the problem solving process
- How the A3 process fits in Project Management
- How the A3 process helps in Leadership and Decision Making
About the Speaker 
:Carie Finch is a project manager and coach for process improvement in the Efficiency Improvement Department at Gundersen Lutheran Health System. She leads corporate wide projects to lower the total health care cost while maintaining high quality and patient satisfaction. Most recently, she is leading a Demonstration Project for Center for Medicare Services (CMS).
Carie holds her certificate for project management and has been at Gundersen Lutheran since 1996. She is an active member of PMI La Crosse chapter. Carie is an RN at Gundersen Lutheran, serving Cardio Pulmonary Unit patients, and then Critical Care Nursing for 14 years. She also served in the Information Systems department, where she led IT projects such as the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) for the Inpatient Orders Team and PDA Dictation for providers. She also served as the Optimization Specialist for the EMR.