Maximizing potential: Eliminating waste and improving efficiency CCBRT’s reputation for exemplary eye care services means that they face consistently high demand at the Disability Hospital. Increased efficiency is critical to sustain high quality services for everyone who arrives at the hospital to seek treatment. CCBRT is one of the first healthcare providers in Africa to implement lean healthcare strategies in its facilities, adapting principles of waste reduction developed in the manufacturing industry and applying them to the healthcare context. Supporting CCBRT in the early stages of its lean journey, Kupona Foundation serves as a connector, linking CCBRT with the technical support of lean experts in the United States. In 2015, groups from the CCBRT leadership team took part in 10-day training courses at the Thedacare Center for Healthcare Value in Wisconsin, led by Dr. John Toussaint, a pioneer in the lean healthcare world. In addition, Kupona facilitated a partnership with lean management consultant Chris Kita, who traveled to Tanzania for five weeks to support targeted lean healthcare pilots in CCBRT’s Eye Outpatient Department.
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