Noted Lean Healthcare Expert Mark Graban Joins Software Firm KaiNexus

June 14, 2011 - PRLog -- DALLAS – KaiNexus, a web-based software company that makes improvement easier for healthcare organizations, announced today the addition of Mark Graban to their senior management team.

Graban joins as Chief Improvement Officer to lead the development of KaiNexus’ sales and implementation processes as the company goes to market with their 1.0 release. Having most recently served as a Senior Fellow at the Lean Enterprise Institute and Director of Communication & Technology for the Healthcare Value Network, Graban has over 15 years of experience with lean, kaizen, and other continuous improvement methodologies, including six years focused exclusively in healthcare.

Graban earned a BS in industrial engineering from Northwestern University, as well as an MS in mechanical engineering and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is author of the book "Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Satisfaction," a recipient of a 2009 Shingo Professional Publication and Research Award and his second book, "Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Improvements," will be published in early 2012.

“This is a very exciting opportunity to participate in the early-stage growth of a company that has innovative technology to support the incredibly important purpose of healthcare improvement,” said Graban.

Gregory Jacobson, MD, co-founder and CEO of KaiNexus said, “Mark brings a widely-recognized lean healthcare expertise to the company that will support KaiNexus as we grow and expand in the marketplace.“ Jacobson added, “His experience in coaching front-line healthcare professionals and managers in kaizen and continuous improvement practices will help to further our mission of transforming healthcare by making improvement easier.”

About KaiNexus

Founded in 2009, KaiNexus “makes improvement easier” for healthcare by facilitating communication throughout the entire organization with its web-based technology.  KaiNexus helps initiate, manage, and spread ideas that come from clinicians and front-line staff, streamlining the management process required for continuous improvement to thrive.  It is built for the realities of today’s complex healthcare organizations, helping better facilitate staff and physician-driven continuous improvement efforts.

The KaiNexus platform has been in beta use by multiple departments throughout the Vanderbilt University Medical Center since early 2011, after participating in the development of early versions since 2005.   KaiNexus is in the process of rolling out to several other large organizations. Today, KaiNexus software is commercially available for healthcare organizations of any size, in any location.

For more information, visit http://www.KaiNexus.com or check out KaiNexus on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Note to Editors

Gregory Jacobson MD, Co-Founder and CEO of KaiNexus, graduated from Washington University in St Louis in 1997 with a BS in Biology.  He attended Baylor College of Medicine from 1997 to 2001.  From 2001 to 2004, he completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he then stayed on as faculty.  Starting in 2004, it was his observation and research of operational inefficiencies and unrealized improvement opportunities that resulted in the creation of a rudimentary software tool at VUMC and, ultimately, the founding of KaiNexus. Jacobson is co-author of  “Kaizen: A Method of Process Improvement in the Emergency Department,” published in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine.  

Contact Information
Website: www.KaiNexus.com
Email: info@KaiNexus.com
Phone: (469) 454-8055

# # #

Founded in 2009, KaiNexus makes improvement easier through web-based technology that helps initiate, manage, and spread ideas that come from clinicians and front-line staff. KaiNexus streamlines the management process required for continuous improvement to thrive. The KaiNexus platform has been in beta use by multiple departments throughout the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Evans Dermatology Partners since early 2011. Learn more at our company website: http://www.KaiNexus.com

KaiNexus is based on the simple belief that people and organizations want to improve. They want to improve their lives, their families, their communities, and their work. We know that improvement is hard. We firmly believe that we can utilize technology to connect people to make improvement easier. In essence, the result of combining a desire to improve with well-designed technology can allow any organization to attain a state of continual improvement.