It was just over two years ago (in Dec 2012) that I heard that employees were pledging to make healthcare better. At the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Forum in Orlando, Helen Bevan of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) talked about being a healthcare radical. She shared that employees all over the NHS were committing to change and bringing their passion and ideas to life. Furthermore, NHS executives were celebrating and championing the ability and passion for change; instead of choosing the change that all employees would make.
It was a simple and novel approach. And I wondered how this would work in the United States. And over time, so did Tim Rawson, and Mike Lin…and Yasmin Staton and Claudia Perez. So too did Jim Rawson, Richard Corder, Debra Barrath, and Amy Woodrum…Along with Dina Piccoli, Josh Rutkoff…and….
We formed a “coalition of the willing” six months ago (August 2014) organized by the Innovation Learning Network to import NHS Change Day.
We crafted simple principles to move the work forward 4 months ago (October -2014):
- Keep it simple
- Import “as is”
- Make it grassroots
- Invite all
We jumpstarted and divvied the work 3 months ago (November 2014) splitting into technology, marketing and social, and resources.
And so just over two years ago from when I first heard about NHS healthcare employees pledging to make healthcare better, I posted my first pledge “to launch Change Day in the United States”.
Want to make your own pledge? Visit: http://usachangeday.org
And follow @USAChangeDay on Twitter.
Chris McCarthy 
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