According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2007), the average length of stay in 2005 for all inpatients in a hospital was 4.8 days. After careful study of admissions over the past 6 months, the average length of stay for your hospital was 8.7 days. The chief executive officer (CEO) is concerned that the average length of stay is much higher than the national average and has asked you to look into the issue further. You are to study this issue and attempt to decrease the average length of stay so that it is more in-line with the national average.

Explain your findings in a research paper of 3-4 pages. Guidelines for your paper are as follows:

Identify and explain 4-5 potential causes for the higher-than-average length of stay for the hospital.

Address the issue of the high average length of stay for the hospital by putting together a brief proposal of how Six Sigma will address the issue.

Identify at least 2 processes that could be measured through the implementation of the Six Sigma program.

What tools will be used to measure the processes identified?

Provide a detailed explanation of the potential benefits to the hospital as a result of the Six Sigma program.

To illustrate, reference at least 1 case in which a hospital has decreased its average length of stay using Six Sigma.

To support your research, you must provide at least 3 references (this is in addition to the case reference). Be sure to cite all references in APA format.

Reference

2005 national hospital discharge summary. (2007). Retrieved from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad385.pdf

3-4 pages long