SEATTLE – Improving processes has accomplished more than just making life easier at Seattle Children’s Hospital. It has put money in the bank.

More than that, it has improved the facility’s ability to keep workers engaged and happy, and it has improved lives for patients and clinical staff.

The facility has seen enough results from the use of continuous process improvement, or CPI, that it maintains a staff of nearly 25 and has trained nearly 600 staff in the process, first developed by Toyota.

“We’re in this for the long haul, not as the flavor of the month,” said Pat Hagan, president and chief operating officer of the facility. “We went to the board and told them we needed to invest in this; we wanted to invest in our own infrastructure. We knew that it will both be better culturally and as a long-term investment.”

The facility began to implement CPI incrementally, starting about eight years ago. First attempts didn’t involve physicians; now, clinicians are actively engaged in the process.

The facility’s board approved a multi-million-dollar investment in CPI after seeing the benefits and financial results, Hagan said.