Growing organizational capacity through a systems approach: one health network's experience.

Background: Hospitals are reporting unexpected surges in demand for services. Lehigh Valley Hospital challenged its clinical and administrative staff to increase capacity by at least 4% per year using an interdepartmental, systemwide initiative, Growing Organizational Capacity (GOC).

Methods: Following a systemwide leadership retreat that yielded more than 1,000 ideas, the initiative's principal sponsor convened a cross-functional improvement team.

Sustainability of partnership projects: a conceptual framework and checklist.

Background: There is growing recognition that the health care delivery system in the United States must make major changes. Intervention projects focusing on quality and patient safety offer the potential for reshaping the future of medicine. Sustainability of the Partnerships for Quality (PFQ) projects and other patient safety and quality improvement projects that provide evidence of effectiveness is essential if progress is to be made.