Ten Effingham Health System team members have earned Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification.

The individuals are: Karen Anderson, materials management; Hilary Evans, Care Center nurse; Shannon Heath, Care Center nurse; Vickie Linscott, special projects; Tammy Mims, chief operating officer, administration; Michael Murphy, strategic business liaison; Amy Roddenberry, medical surgical nurse; Nancy Snyder, operating room nurse; Joe Tallent, community outreach; Melissa Waller, revenue cycle.

“Earning Green Belt certification requires a considerable amount of work, a commitment to the organization and an innovative spirit,” Mims, Effingham Health System COO and Lean Six Sigma initiative leader, said. “Through teamwork and leadership, these individuals have introduced changes that will advance care and improve processes at Effingham Health System facilities.”

Effingham Health System partnered with Riverwood Associates to train employees in methodologies of Lean Six Sigma, a business management strategy that focuses on data, statistical tools, and project management techniques to identify and solve problems using a project team approach.  Riverwood Associates is an operational excellence training and consulting firm that helps individuals and organizations improve their level of performance.

Green Belt certification, which is intended for those employees leading department-based Lean Six Sigma projects part-time, requires an employee to take a series of intensive coursework, pass a rigorous exam and develop and defend a workplace project that demonstrates improved processes that create efficiencies such as reductions in time, costs and paperwork.