Lean Six Sigma Training with Health Care Concentration Offered

Kent State University is offering a health care and service component of its Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training and certification, beginning March 14. Lean Six Sigma is a business methodology that teaches practices and tools designed to create a culture of operational excellence.

This new certification concentration will help professionals use Lean Six Sigma tools to increase efficiency while maintaining a high level of quality to deliver services and value for internal and external customers and patients, according to Amy Lane, executive director of Kent State’s Center for Corporate and Professional Development.

“With Northeast Ohio being the home to so many leading hospitals and health care-related industries, we think this training will provide a valuable opportunity for many professionals in the region,” Lane said. “It’s also another step toward Kent State’s excellence in black belt training and certification.”

The program is scheduled for one week per month for four consecutive months and consists of 160 contact hours of training. All sessions meet Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 8971 Wilcox Dr., in Twinsburg, Ohio. Training will take place on the following weeks: March 14 – 18, April 11 – 15, May 9 – 13, and June 13 – 17.

The newly developed concentration was first offered in the fall of 2010 and includes content developed with input from professionals of University Hospitals of Cleveland, St. Vincent’s Health System in Erie, Pa., and TechniGraphics, Inc. of Wooster, Ohio.  This is the first expansion of the Lean Six Sigma training beyond its popular general offering, which is more manufacturing-oriented.

A key component of the Lean Six Sigma philosophy is a purposeful elimination of wasteful activities that can be deployed in every aspect of any organization. Lean Six Sigma includes a set of statistical tools to give practitioners data to make sound business decisions.

Key candidates for this training include quality directors, directors of patient services, operations managers, vice presidents of administration, lab managers, CFOs, presidents and continuous improvement agents.

Health care and service professionals from a wide range of leading organizations have received black belt training and certification from Kent State, including Akron General Medical Center, Aultman Health Foundation, Summa Health System, University Hospitals Health Systems, Rea & Associates, Inc. and the County of Ventura, Calif. After the training program, Lean Six Sigma facilitators are available to assist participants in the successful implementation of Lean Six Sigma principles in their work environments.

For more information, contact Kent State’s Center for Corporate and Professional Development at 330-672-8698 or LeanSixSigma@kent.edu, or visit www.kent.edu/LeanSixSigma.

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Media Contacts:
Amy Lane, alane@kent.edu, 330-672-5828
Bob Burford, rburford@kent.edu, 330-672-8516