The number one critical success factor for Prairie Lakes was strong nurse manager leadership of the unit.  Unit leaders had to learn to think differently and to work in a more streamlined organization, without multiple levels of and the security of bureaucracy.

Agile teams work best in a setting where the team can make decisions based on the needs of the patients and capabilities of the team.  The critical thinking of the team is more influential than rules and policies in determining how to organize patient care delivery for a particular shift.

Prairie Lakes brought in a new CNO, CEO and CFO within 6 months of each other.  This team came together and agreed that productivity should be improved to add value for patients and the organization. By focusing resources on the essential work that impacts quality and patient care outcomes, that is doing less with less, productivity was enhanced.

One of the biggest obstacles to implementing a new care delivery model was engaging the staff and overcoming “change fatigue.”  The rapid cycle improvement process is designed to be quick and sustainable, but the reality of constant change can take a toll; PLHS learned to back off and go underground to allow time for staff breathers.

Success was predicated on the ability of professional disciplines to work together as interdisciplinary teams that focused on the patient.

PLHS looked at a variety of healthcare best practices, but they often found that they could achieve the same or better results with a different process.  Rather than adopt specific ideas such as Rapid Response teams and SBAR, PLHS identified processes that worked better in their specific environment.