I was delighted to learn a concept from a reader of my post on Kaizen vs. Kaikaku. Dr. Hahn coined the phrase Pink Ocean—apparently a reference to making progress. I do see plenty of movement towards a greater understanding of the role developmental trauma in development of negative behaviors. I have seen Blue Ocean explored, but no full blown implementation yet. That’s what I think Dr. Hahn meant, but I would love to hear her concept. That’s how I learn.
What Pink Ocean do I see out there? I wrote about the Cherokee Health Systems in Knoxville, TN. They have one of the absolutely best implementations of a joint medical/behavioral health screening processes I have seen. We could learn from them. I tried to. Speaking of Cherokee, the tribe in North Carolina has been focusing on the impact of ACE’s in development of Type 2 Diabetes. That’s definite Pink Ocean Work. Dr. Ann Bullock has been exploring Blue Ocean for years. Dr. Abram Hoffer (d. 2009) and a small group of psychiatrists have been developing the concept of Orthomolecular Nutrition for decades. Dr. Bruce Perry and other child psychiatrists have been expanding the range of treatment for children with wonderful results. And a number of health care systems have been improving their management with outstanding results. My focus has been on Lean Healthcare improvements at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, but I am also aware of the work done by Sutter Health, Parke Nicollet, Seattle Children’s and others. Pioneers in many health care improvements that help their customers access health care more readily. And, of course, the ACE Study. Dr. Felitti and Dr. Anda were certainly in the Blue Ocean, although to hear Dr. Felitti describe it, it was partly a result of being off course (not in a negative way). They found results they did not expect.
So what is a “True Blue Ocean Solution.” My thought is the combination of all of what I have listed in this discussion, effectively combined into a systemic approach. I have been talking about this for six years. Now we need to talk about this if you believe a systemic approach is a valid approach, and make it happen. In the meantime, Pink Ocean is a great descriptor for all of the mighty fine work being done by lots of outstanding people.
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