Eye Center Named as an Innovator of the Year Finalist for Third Consecutive Year

They say “good things come in threes,” and that’s certainly the case with the UMass Memorial Eye Center’s Innovators of the Year history! For the third year in a row, the Eye Center has won a coveted spot as a member of the Innovators of the Year’s Sweet 16! Out of dozens of ideas nominated for the award systemwide, the Eye Center’s “Blue Line” project was recognized as one of the top sixteen ideas of 2019!

The Blue Line concept was an idea to help eliminate overcrowding at the registration desk in the main lobby and improve patient wait times – a result of enormous growth within the department over the past three years. Rather than stand in line at the Eye Center’s front desk to register, akin to the Wizard of Oz, patients now are directed to “Follow the Blue Line” to the registration desk in our Retina Waiting Area where they can register, typically without a wait.

To bring this idea to life, the team identified a way to streamline the registration process by directing patients to another registration spot without the need for a staff escort, and without getting them lost along the way. Together, staff members came up with the idea of creating a “Blue Line” on the floor that patients easily could follow to the alternative check-in area. In addition to improving patient wait times, the idea is allowing patient volume to be shared between the two registration areas, which is resulting in more time for front-desk staff to address other clinic needs.

“Everybody loves the new way of doing things,” said Brittany Hynes, ambulatory service representative. “They said they hope we never stop doing the retina area check-in and check-out because it’s just working out and it’s definitely eliminated wait time.”

“These 16 finalists represent the “best of the best” of our everyday innovators from nominations by their peers,” wrote Eric Dickson, president and CEO, UMass Memorial Health Care, in the Sweet 16 announcement letter. “They were chosen based on: team member engagement in huddles, use of visual management and True North metrics, and celebration of ideas and each other.”

Congratulations to the entire Eye Team for implementing this outstanding idea that’s improving the patient experience for everyone, everyday. UMass Memorial employees are encouraged to watch the Sweet 16 video now, and then keep an eye out for the finalist videos and voting instructions in the coming weeks. Don’t forget to log your vote for your favorite idea (wink, wink: The Blue Line)!

Thank you for your support.