Lake Superior College News Releases

Funds will go toward “Lean Healthcare” training at St. Luke’s

(Duluth, Minn.) – A major state grant promises to increase efficiency, enhance quality, and improve employee satisfaction at St. Luke’s, one of the region’s largest health care systems. The Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) has awarded a $287,897 grant to Lake Superior College to develop “Lean Healthcare” training for St. Luke’s hospital and clinics.

A grant-signing ceremony will celebrate this collaboration on Thursday, May 15, at 2 p.m. in St. Luke’s 3 East Conference Room with Dr. Kathleen Nelson, Lake Superior College president; St. Luke’s President and Chief Executive Officer John Strange; and Paul Moe, director of Minnesota Job Skills Partnership program, presiding.

“We are excited to partner with Lake Superior College through the MJSP grant to implement Lean Healthcare principles,” said Strange. “It gives us a common approach to improving processes for the care of our patients through the St. Luke’s system.”

Over the course of the three-year grant, 192 St. Luke’s employees will learn the Lean Healthcare principles and share them across the health system. “St. Luke’s is implementing Lean Healthcare in response to the increased industry pressure to serve their clients more efficiently, while improving quality and reducing costs,” said Nelson. By eliminating unnecessary steps and having the right resources at the right time, employees will be more satisfied with their work. Patients will ultimately benefit from a more effective and efficient health care provider.

Health care experts around the country are embracing the Lean Healthcare concept, which was originally based on the Toyota production system for improving manufacturing processes.

The Minnesota Job Skills Partnership acts as a catalyst between business and education in developing cooperative training projects that provide new job training or retraining of existing employees. MJSP grants are given to educational institutions with businesses as partners. The program is part of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the state’s principal economic development agency.

St. Luke’s, a comprehensive regional health care system, has built a reputation on providing quality care and putting the patient first. St. Luke’s hospital, along with 34 primary and specialty care clinics, offers a comprehensive continuum of care that includes trauma, medical, surgical, diagnostic, therapeutic and rehab services in the Twin Ports and the 17-county region of northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan.

LSC is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. With more than 4,800 students enrolled this spring semester, LSC is northeastern Minnesota’s largest two-year college. LSC provides a wide range of programs and services, including liberal arts and science courses for transfer, technical programs intended to provide occupational skills, continuing education, and customized training for business and industry. LSC is also a leader in Internet-delivered courses and programs in Minnesota.

Originally published in the Outlook Edition of the Duluth News Tribune on 3/23/08. Written by Janet Blixt.

Lake Superior College has been awarded two Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) grants totaling $489,181 to provide customized workforce training programs over a three-year period for St. Luke’s and Northstar Aerospace of Duluth.

“We’re pleased to partner with St. Luke’s and Northstar Aerospace. Both healthcare and aviation are growing industries in the Arrowhead region and we plan to support their workforce needs with this intensive training,” said Steve Wagner, LSC’s vice president of workforce development and customized training.

Lake Superior College will provide training to eighty Northstar employees in machine operation and machining. Northstar Aerospace specializes in aircraft seats, precision machined components, parts and assemblies for the aerospace industry. The training program will compliment the company’s plan to develop a career pathway program that incorporates strategic recruitment of entry level employees, career laddering of existing employees through skill development, and the development of a customized training program that teaches the knowledge, skills and abilities that Northstar employees need to be the best in the industry. “We want to provide our employees with the tools and training to produce the highest quality machined components, parts and assemblies for the aerospace industry,” said Kevin C. Snyder, vice president of human resources for Northstar Aerospace. “Receiving the MJSP grant represents the cornerstone of Northstar’s six strategic employment and training initiatives running concurrently over the next five years.”

Lake Superior College will partner with St. Luke’s hospital and clinics to develop a customized Lean Healthcare Training Program. St. Luke’s is a comprehensive health care system with more than 2,200 employees serving a 17-county region in three states.

Over the course of the three-year grant, 192 employees will learn the Lean Health principles and share them across the health system. “We are excited to partner with Lake Superior College through the MJSP grant to implement Lean Healthcare principles at St. Luke’s. Lean Healthcare gives us a common approach to improving processes for the care of our patients through the St. Luke’s system,” said John Strange, president and chief executive officer of St. Luke’s.

Health care experts around the country are embracing the Lean Health concept, which was originally based on the Toyota production system for improving manufacturing processes. The process eliminates unnecessary steps and works to provide the right resources at the right time for patient care and employee satisfaction. Several years ago this same model was modified and implemented in the healthcare industry. Lake Superior College has already partnered with Itasca Community College and three other colleges in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system to develop the core of this curriculum.

The Minnesota Job Skills Partnership acts as a catalyst between business and education in developing cooperative training projects that provides new job training or retraining of existing employees. MJSP grants are given to educational institutions with businesses as partners. Grants are awarded by the MJSP Board to educational institutions who partner with businesses to develop new job training or retraining for existing employees. All training projects pair at least one public/private accredited Minnesota educational institution and one business. The program is part of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the state’s principal economic development agency.

LSC is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. With more than 4,800 students enrolled this spring semester, LSC is northeastern Minnesota’s largest two-year college. LSC provides a wide range of programs and services, including liberal arts and science courses for transfer, technical programs intended to provide occupational skills, continuing education, and customized training for business and industry. LSC is also a leader in Internet-delivered courses and programs in Minnesota

(Duluth, Minn.) – Lake Superior College (LSC) has been awarded an Intervention for College Attendance (ICAP) grant for $34,000 a year for the next two years. The funding will be used to help eligible students complete high school and enter postsecondary education. Funds for this project were provided by a grant from the Minnesota Intervention for College Attendance Program administered by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. The project was financed by $68,000 in state funds and $250,000 from other sources, including the U.S. Department of Education.

“We serve an average of 50 high school students each year who meet the eligibility criteria for our program,” said Jeannette Turchi, LSC program director. “We are grateful for the additional state funding. It will be used to provide weekly tutoring for all participants, career exploration, and to help defray the costs for a summer enrichment program which is open to all participants.”

LSC is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. With more than 4,100 students enrolled this fall semester, LSC is Northeastern Minnesota’s largest two-year college. LSC provides a wide range of programs and services, including liberal arts and science courses for transfer, technical programs intended to provide occupational skills, continuing education, and customized training for business and industry. LSC is also the leader in Internet-delivered courses and programs in Minnesota.

(Duluth, Minn.) – Lake Superior College will receive $250,000 a year for the next five years in the form of a federal grant for LSC’s Upward Bound program. Upward Bound is an academic support program for high school students funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Upward Bound is designed to provide assistance to high school students whose goal is to complete a postsecondary education.

The LSC grant was funded for five years instead of the usual four years because the college’s application scored within the top 10 percent of nearly 1000 eligible applications in the country. The funding amount for the next year will be $250,000 even though the grant will not go into effect until September 1, 2008. The grant will end August 31, 2013. “We serve an average of 50 high school students each year through Upward Bound,” said Jeannette Turchi, LSC program director. “We’re grateful for the extended funding.”

LSC is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. With more than 4,500 students enrolled this spring semester, LSC is Northeastern Minnesota’s largest two-year college. LSC provides a wide range of programs and services, including liberal arts and science courses for transfer, technical programs intended to provide occupational skills, continuing education, and customized training for business and industry. LSC is also the leader in Internet-delivered courses and programs in Minnesota.

Funds will go toward “Lean Health” training at SMDC Health System

Duluth, Minn – A major state grant promises to increase efficiency, enhance quality and improve employee satisfaction at the region’s largest health care system. The Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) has awarded nearly $400,000 to Lake Superior College to develop “Lean Health” training for SMDC Health System. Itasca Community College will also take part in the project as an instructional partner.

A grant signing ceremony celebrated this accomplishment on Tuesday, May 29, 2007. Lake Superior College President Kathleen Nelson and SMDC Chief Administrative Officer John Smylie discussed the benefits for their organizations and the community.

John Smylie, Kathleen Nelson and Paul Moe, representing the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership, formalized the grant funding by signing a contract.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our employees and our patients,” Smylie says. “With the excellent training from Lake Superior College, we will be better positioned to meet the workforce challenges of the future.”

The Minnesota Job Skills Partnership acts as a catalyst between business and education in developing cooperative training projects that provide new-job training or retraining of existing employees. MJSP grants are given to educational institutions with businesses as partners.

Over the course of the three-year grant, more than 200 SMDC employees will learn the Lean Health principles and share them across the health system. By eliminating unnecessary steps and having the right resources at the right time, employees will be more satisfied with their work. Patients will ultimately benefit from a more effective and efficient health care provider.

“SMDC is implementing Lean Health as an answer to the increasing pressure being put on the industry to serve their clients faster, while improving quality and reducing costs,” Nelson says.

Health care experts around the country are embracing the Lean Health concept, which was originally based on the Toyota production system for improving manufacturing processes. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System is working with several healthcare institutions around the state to implement these techniques, including Park Nicollet Health Services, the Mayo Clinic and Grand Itasca Hospital.

SMDC has already applied these concepts in a few areas around the health system. One initiative has improved the efficiency of preparing patients for surgery once they get into the operating room at St. Mary’s Medical Center. These efforts have helped surgery scheduling to be smoother and on time.

Health system leaders are excited that this collaboration with LSC will allow them to incorporate these techniques across all areas of patient care. And by developing this comprehensive curriculum, Lake Superior College will be able to offer the “Lean” training to other local companies in the future, creating community benefits for years to come.