NICU Reduces Traumatic Accidental Breathing Tube Removals with Minitab and Lean Six Sigma

With the the Mark A. Watson Center for Operations Excellence established in 2008 and a history of quality improvement spanning over 125 years, it’s no wonder Akron Children’s Hospital has consistently earned Best Children’s Hospitals rankings in 7 of the 10 specialties evaluated annually by U.S. News & World Report—including cancer, diabetes and endocrinology, pulmonology, neonatology, neurology and neurosurgery, and orthopedics.

Using Lean Six Sigma tools such as fishbone diagrams and cause maps, as well as Minitab Statistical Software to create control charts and test their hypotheses, the Department of Respiratory Care implemented several improvements with short- and long-term benefits for both their operating costs and patients’ well-being.