How a Community Hospital Is Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Real-World Lessons in Lean, Leadership, and Sustaining Change

Lean and continuous improvement are often introduced in healthcare through isolated projects — but without the right structure and leadership behaviors, those gains don’t last.

In this on-demand webinar, Mike McGowan, Director of Process Excellence at Marietta Memorial Hospital, shares how his organization moved beyond short-term Lean projects to build a sustainable culture of continuous improvement.

Hosted by Mark Graban of KaiNexus, this session offers an honest look at what it takes to embed improvement into daily work — especially in a community hospital with limited resources and high operational pressure.

Rather than presenting a rigid roadmap, Mike walks through what worked, what didn’t, and what they continue to refine as their improvement journey evolves.

View all previous KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Webinars

Key Insights

One of the most important lessons from Marietta Memorial Hospital’s journey is that training alone does not create culture. While Lean tools and certifications matter, sustained improvement depends on how leaders show up — whether they listen, coach, and reinforce problem-solving behaviors long after a project ends.

The webinar also highlights the power of frontline engagement. When staff members are trained, supported, and taken seriously, improvement stops being something “done to them” and becomes part of how work gets done every day. This shift helped prevent the common cycle of initial success followed by gradual backsliding.

Finally, Mike emphasizes that continuous improvement is not a one-time initiative. It requires patience, adaptation, and ongoing reflection — especially as organizational priorities, staffing, and financial pressures change.

What You’ll Learn

• How a community hospital structured tiered Lean training (White, Yellow, Green, and Black Belts)

• Why project-based improvement often fails to stick — and how to hardwire gains

• The role leadership behavior plays in sustaining improvement over time

• How to engage frontline staff in meaningful, daily problem-solving

• Practical lessons for spreading best practices without forcing “one-size-fits-all” solutions

Who This Webinar Is For

This webinar is especially valuable for:

• Healthcare executives and senior leaders

• Lean, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement professionals

• Quality, safety, and operational excellence leaders

• CI teams working in community or regional hospitals

• Organizations struggling to sustain improvement results

Even if you don’t work in healthcare, the lessons shared apply to any organization working to move from projects to culture.

Presented By:

Mike McGowan

Director of Process Excellence | Marietta Memorial Hospital

Mike is a graduate of Ohio University with a BS in Zoology.  He has worked as an Medical Technologist, Chemistry Supervisor, Laboratory Director, and Senior Director in healthcare for the last 35 years spending most of that time at Marietta Memorial Hospital.  He is a lean six sigma black belt and a 2014 graduate of The Ohio State University with a Master’s Degree in Business Operational Excellence. Mike is currently Director of Process Excellence at MMH.