EPISODE · Feb 7, 2018 · 40 MIN
Sustaining Healthcare Kaizen: Joe Swartz on 10+ Years of Continuous Improvement at Franciscan
from Lean Blog Interviews: Real-World Lean Leadership Conversations in Healthcare and Beyond · host Mark Graban
Joining me again for episode #299 of the podcast is Joe Swartz, my friend and esteemed co-author for our books Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements and The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen: Leadership for a Continuously Learning and Improving Organization. Episode page with links and more. You can learn more about our books here. He was previously the guest in episode #187. Joe is Administrative Director of Business Transformation for Franciscan St. Francis Health System in Indiana (his full bio is here). Today is the first part of a two-part discussion, where Joe reflects on the history and evolution of more than ten years of "Kaizen" or continuous improvement in his system. In our next episode together, Joe will be talking about "Champions of Change." I hope you enjoy the discussion!
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What this episode covers
In this episode, Mark Graban is joined by Joe Swartz, Administrative Director of Business Transformation at Franciscan Alliance, for a deep reflection on more than a decade of practicing Kaizen in healthcare. Joe shares how Franciscan evolved from early Kaizen efforts into a broader Lean management system—one that balances frontline-driven improvement with strategic alignment. The conversation explores what motivates healthcare professionals to participate in continuous improvement, how leaders can create better acceptance of Kaizen, and why learning through small PDSA cycles builds long-term capability. You’ll also hear practical insights on strategy deployment, daily improvement, huddles, leading metrics, and why leaders who practice Kaizen themselves are better equipped to drive change across complex systems. This is part one of a two-part conversation. In the next episode, Joe and Mark discuss “champions of change” and what it takes to sustain improvement over time in healthcare organizations.
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Sustaining Healthcare Kaizen: Joe Swartz on 10+ Years of Continuous Improvement at Franciscan
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