L – R: Mark Hall, President of William George; Mary Richardson, Steward Health Care Community Liaison; Justine Carr, MD, Steward Health Care Chief Medical Officer; Sal Perla, President of Nashoba Valley Medical Center; Jacqueline Belrose, VP of Lifelong Learning and Community Workforce Development, Mount Wachusett Community College; Wanda Edwards, Human Resource Director, Nashoba Valley Medical Center.

Nashoba Valley Medical Center (NMVC) has been named a recipient of a $248,175 Health Care Workforce Transformation Grant to enhance its overall patient experience through an employee designated health care training program. NVMC has partnered with Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) to provide training to all 448 members of the hospital staff over a 24-month period.

Working with MWCC, Nashoba Valley identified lean transformation for health care as the process improvement strategy best suited to enhance the patient experience at the hospital. This first-of-its-kind training program will include three types of lean certification training for employees at various levels. The training will impact all areas of the hospital but will focus primarily on the patient discharge process and improving the patient experience by reducing wait times.

“We also hope to decrease patient readmissions, enhance patient flow within the acute care experience and continuum of care, and impact the length of stay through providing the training,” said Doreen Thomas, RN, BSN, MHA, chief nursing officer at Nashoba Valley Medical Center. “This all translates into an anticipated decrease in hospital costs through increased productivity both within the acute care setting and in the community.”

Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund Training Grants are from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, and are administered by the Commonwealth Corporation. This year, grants were awarded to 53 organizations throughout Massachusetts who will help train health care providers to improve patient service and reduce health care costs.

“We are the only community hospital in the region to receive this grant,” said Salvatore Perla, president of Nashoba Valley Medical Center. “To be able to offer a health care-directed training program that will touch every single Nashoba Valley Medical Center employee at all levels from nursing assistants, to the housekeeping staff, up to the executive level, is a marvelous opportunity.”

During the 2013 to 2014 fiscal year, MWCC helped area companies secure $504,624 in training grants, adding to a seven-year combined total of $4.1 million awarded to the region’s businesses, health care, and nonprofit organizations.

“We congratulate Nashoba Valley Medical Center on being selected for this significant training grant and look forward to our partnership,” said MWC President Daniel M. Asquino. “Lean training is transformative for organizations, as we have seen first-hand at MWCC. The training teaches participants to examine how they do things with an eye toward identifying ways to achieve greater efficiency, eliminate waste, and streamline processes for more efficient and cost effective outcomes. It’s a win-win for the organization, as well as the people they serve.”

On Thursday, May 28, 2015, Perla and the entire NVMC hospital staff came together to celebrate and officially kick off the beginning of the training program. In addition to the event emcee, Steward Health Care’s Community Liaison Mary Richardson, representatives from Mount Wachusett Community College and members of the community were also in attendance.

About Nashoba Valley Medical Center

Nashoba Valley Medical Center (NVMC) offers community-based primary care and specialty services. NVMC was awarded an A, the highest grade possible, in hospital safety by Leapfrog, and recipient of the Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval. Areas of clinical strength include emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging, cardiology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, oncology, orthopedics, physical therapy and general surgery. NVMC also offers a comprehensive Diabetes and Endocrine Center, Travel Clinic and Occupational Health Services. Nashoba Valley Medical Center is part of the Steward Health Care System LLC, the largest integrated community care organization in New England which combines over 3,000 physicians, 10 acute care hospitals, managed care, insurance programs, home care, an imaging operation, and a number of other post-acute services, to provide the most cost effective and highest quality of integrated patient care. Additional information is available at www.nashobamed.org.

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