About Us

The partnership between the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) and the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value (TCHV) brings together two of the world's leaders in "lean thinking," with a combined 20 years of experience in lean implementation and education. Working in partnership allows LEI and the TCHV to leverage their unique perspectives and not-for-profit missions to accomplish a shared goal of fundamentally improving healthcare delivery through lean thinking.

LEI was founded by James P. Womack, noted management expert and leader of the MIT research team that coined the term "lean" through their study of the Toyota Production System. The ThedaCare Center, led by John Toussaint, M.D., was founded out of a desire to spread the innovative work done in the ThedaCare community health system. During Dr. Toussaint's tenure as CEO, from 2002 to 2008, ThedaCare began an organization-wide lean transformation effort that led to dramatic improvements in patient safety, quality, cost, waiting times, and employee morale.