Lean Healthcare in Tanzania - Michael Grogan and Dr. Brenda Dmello

Joining me for episode #182 are Michael Grogan and Dr. Brenda Dmello, joining me via Skype from Tanzania where they are working together to use Lean to improve health care at the Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania  (CCBRT). Michael is Irish born and left his career in the United States to work in Africa (which you can read about in his guest post that I published earlier this month).

In the episode, we talk about their mission to reduce maternal death rates and “needless suffering” by creating “engaging, problem solving managers” as “everything rises and falls with leadership.” They are developing leaders who can “stop blaming” and treat people with respect, eliminating the “culture of fear” that we see in far too many organizations around the world. Dr. Brenda says, “I don't think it's ethical to allow change to happen so slowly” and that “clinical skills alone” won't solve healthcare's problems.

Links about their work:

• You can make donations toward their work via the Kupona Foundation
• Mike Stoecklein's blog post about their work
• Michael's blog post on his first 79 days in Tanzania
• Register for a webinar by Michael, hosted by the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value on August 14