Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle has spent two decades applying a management methodology inspired by the Toyota Production System. This approach has become central to the hospital's culture, driving improvements to quality and safety.
It has helped the hospital become one of 12 in the U.S. to receive 26 consecutive "A" safety grades from The Leapfrog Group.
"Virginia Mason Medical Center was founded on a deep commitment to clinical quality and patient safety, so this is the cornerstone of the culture here," hospital President Monica Hilt told Becker's.
The hospital is home to the Virginia Mason Production System, which trains employees in tools and techniques to prioritize patient-centered care and improvement. This has been the foundational element in its consistent safety grade, Ms. Hilt said.
The management system has guided the hospital's operations, influencing how team members approach their work and solve problems, Chief Clinical Officer Andrew Ross, MD, told Becker's.
While elements of Toyota's philosophy have been adopted by various hospitals, Tacoma, Wash.-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health was the first to integrate it across its system. Training is now offered to others worldwide through the Virginia Mason Institute, according to VMFH leaders. This approach emphasizes safe, high-quality care through patient and staff engagement.
"One of the foundational principles of our management methodology is to go to the people doing the work to say, 'Here's where we need to go, but we need to engage you in the process,'" Dr. Ross said.
The hospital's standardized management system has led to improvements in critical areas. Across the system, all seven eligible hospitals received an "A" safety grade in fall 2024.
In addition, as colorectal surgery infection rates were found to exceed benchmarks nationwide, the hospital engaged staff to take a closer look at this issue. By implementing standard work processes around perioperative care, surgical site infection rates decreased, Dr. Ross said.
Coming out of the pandemic, length of stay was identified as an area that needed improvement.
"Having that stable platform and management method to allow us to implement the work in a standardized fashion across all departments of our hospital, and all of our inpatient units allowed us to see the gains in length-of-stay reduction," Dr. Ross said.
Ms. Hilt emphasized the importance of engaging employees and providers in the hospital's mission.
"We're only as strong as our teams, and so we remain committed to our employee engagement satisfaction, as well as our physician and advanced practice provider satisfaction," Ms. Hilt said. "As we're working around advancing our performance, clinical quality and patient safety, we know that it is just as important to be advancing our commitment within the organization and building and supporting a strong team in the organization as well."
Dr. Ross highlighted the critical role of culture in sustaining the hospital's success.
"It's not a matter of acing the test or changing one metric," he said. "It really takes a culture to have this hardwired and ingrained in everything that we do, to ensure that we meet the mark on an annual basis. And I think the fact that we've seen this safety grade 26 straight times is a testament to that."