Eye Center Team Wins the Innovators of the Year Award (Again!)

On December 18, 2019 the UMass Memorial senior leadership team announced the 2019 Innovators of the Year Award recipients. This award recognizes teams from across the health care system for their outstanding contributions in achieving True North goals by successfully implementing caregiver ideas.

Dr. Eric Dickson, CEO of UMass Memorial said: “I would like to congratulate all the teams nominated for the Innovators of the Year Award. It’s your fantastic work that inspires all of us at UMass Memorial Health Care to “think outside of the box” and continually innovate on behalf of our patients and community of caregivers”.

This year more than 50 teams were nominated for this award, and 16 teams reached the stage of finalists, also known as: “The Sweet 16”. The Eye Center has been continuously recognized as leader in healthcare delivery innovation by being named as “Sweet 16” Finalists three years in a row (2017, 2018, 2019). The Eye Team won the Innovators of the Year Award in 2017 and this year they won it again.

Dr. Shlomit Schaal, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences said: “it is truly amazing and heartwarming to realize the power of collaborative team work. Eighty eight ideas were implemented this year at the Eye Center, which resulted in substantial improvements in the services that we provide to our patients”. Dr. Schaal credits the Eye Team members for their many creative original ideas that were successfully implemented this year. The idea that brought the team their winning prize was the “Blue Line”, a line on the clinic’s floor that leads to a separate check in desk at the Retina Clinic. As a result of following the blue line patients’ wait times were shortened and patients’ satisfaction increased.

“The Eye Team consists of Doctors, Administrative Assistants, ASR’s and Technicians, who all work together in concert as a team to achieve goals. I credit our incredible people for everything we have achieved this year. I am truly honored and feel incredibly lucky to be able to be part of this amazing journey. I love the Eye Team, we are like family, and we are FUN!”, said Dr. Schaal. “I would also like to thank the senior leadership of UMass Memorial Healthcare, UMass Memorial Medical Group, and UMass Chan Medical School for their continuous support of the mission of the Eye Center, none of this progress would have been possible without their active sponsorship and enthusiastic encouragement”.