Crowdsourcing Leads to Innovations

Brooks Rehabilitation employs some of the most creative and passionate people in the field. It has always been part of our culture to encourage employees to dream about what could be. Some of our most engaging programs like the Adaptive Sports and Recreation Program and the Brain Injury Clubhouse were proposed by frontline staff that had the courage to dream big.

Two years ago, as a way to formalize this process of innovation, we held our first ever Crowdsourcingevent, open to all employees. We asked for ideas from staff that would propel, enhance or drive our patient satisfaction or employee engagement. The response was overwhelming.

A committee narrowed down the entries and the top seven ideas were presented at our annual management retreat. Managers within the organization then voted live for their favorite idea. Two teams walked away with $10,000 each to further develop their ideas, develop business plans and proformas and present the final product to the Board of Directors for approval

Those two winners, the Brooks Rehabilitation Aphasia Center and Family Housing for out-of-town guests will both open their doors in 2016.

In September, we held our second Crowdsourcing event, which was equally successful. This year’s winners are:

Cecilia Brooks, M.Ed., CCC-SLP – Parkinson’s Program

Ceil proposed the creation of a comprehensive, umbrella program for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and their caregivers. This program would offer a wide array of educational experiences to increase awareness of PD, provide resources to the PD community that increase the quality of life for those with PD and offer opportunities for patients with PD to participate in research.

Marsha Moor, RN BSN – Care Transitions ProgramMarsha proposed the use of virtual communication software to help ease the transition from one Brooks setting to another. The process would be similar to a Skype conversation. The clinical team, patient and patient’s family can call the clinical team at the patient’s next care setting. Clinicians can provide detailed information about the patient to the new care team and introduce the patient virtually. This type of three-way communication allows for increased communication between employees and a greater comfort level for the patient so they know what to expect next.

Be the first to hear updates on these programs and all of the other great changes happening at Brooks by following us on our social media pages and searching #WeAreBrooks.