Registration

RWHC Lean Residency Program

Program Dates:

March 17, 2026 through August 19, 2026

Four 2-day and one 1-day learning sessions, plus four
3-hour Virtual coaching sessions* 
– see schedule below.

• First day of 2-day session is 12:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. CT
• Second day of 2-day session is 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. CT
• Final session on August 19^th is 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. CT

Location:

RWHC Office & Training Center
880 Independence Lane
Sauk City, WI 53583

Application Deadline: February 2^nd

Missed the deadline? Click here to inquire if spots remain.

 Fee:

RWHC Member & Affiliate Member:
$3,250 per participant
$2,850 per participant if three or more register from the same facility

Non-RWHC Member:
$3,900 per participant
$3,420 per participant if three or more register from the same facility

Fee includes program handouts and refreshments.

PLEASE NOTE: The program fee is NON-refundable. Do not send payment; RWHC will invoice your organization. Substitutions may be made before the first residency session.

Instructors

	Erin Smital, RN, is the Nursing Professional Development Educator, Nurse Residency Coordinator and Lean Residency Coordinator at the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative. Along with being an RN, Erin brings forward years of experience in various leadership roles in and out of healthcare. In addition to developing and presenting numerous leadership and nursing focused workshops, she also provides training in de-escalation as a Certified Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Instructor.
	Corrie Searles, MPT, is the Leadership Development Educator at the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative. With her 20+ years of experience in leadership both in and out of healthcare, her past roles have included leadership for therapy teams in hospitals, long term care, outpatient, and home health, as well as Cardiac Rehab, Occupational Health, Fitness Centers, and Stress Testing. Corrie has extensive experience in continuous improvement methodology and a passion for leadership development training. She has a Master’s in Physical Therapy, a Certificate in Organizational Leadership, and a Certificate in Customer Service & Leadership training with Achieve Global. She is certified to teach Crucial Conversations through Vital Smarts in addition to being a certified coach for Shift Positive 360.
	Erin Daniels, is the Regional Vice President for Continuous Improvement at SSM Health where she is responsible for the planning, development and execution of the strategic direction of continuous improvement for the Wisconsin region ministries.  Erin has experience in a variety of leadership roles in various healthcare organizations including clinical operations, continuous improvement, organizational development and human resources.

Target Audience

Leaders/Supervisors/Managers/Directors. Individual attendees from an organization are very welcome, though we have learned that signing up two or more leaders from one organization to attend together enhances the learning experience. The commitment is for the full program.

Program Description
The intent of the program is to help leaders understand the basic principles of Lean including its impact on problem solving, leadership, engagement and culture. Following the completion of this program, leaders will be able to identify waste, manage projects efficiently, utilize Lean tools, engage and empowering their staff, and develop a team of change agents. The impact of this program has potential to spark positive change within departments, across various levels of patient care and ultimately your overall culture.

*What is included in our coaching sessions?
The sessions will include instructor facilitated hands-on working time and development of the concepts learned.​

Program Objectives

• Understand the principles of Lean including its impact on problem solving, leadership, engagement and culture
• Identify and use Lean tools that help aid in problem solving
• Discover how to empower and coach staff to utilize the Lean tools
• Understand how to engage staff in owning their work and using the tools to improve their work
• Identify leadership skills needed to create highly engaged teams
• Differentiate what it means to lead versus manage others

Program Coordinator
Erin Smital, RN, Nursing Professional Development Educator, Nurse Residency Coordinator, RWHC
esmital@rwhc.com | 608-643-1066

"I have learned so much about not only myself, but the leader I want to be. I feel the tools will be very helpful in my growth as a leader and will give many opportunities to eliminate waste and improve processes for our staff and patients." - Jen H., Lean Residency Participant	"Wow, not sure where to start or stop. This program has been a wonderful engaging experience, from the hands-on learning to the interacting with others to work through the Lean principles and apply them back to our work." - Deb B., Lean Residency Participant
"I’ve learned it’s not about the tools, it’s about the conversation. Don’t lose the team in the tools. Engage in conversation geared towards similar outcomes that would have come from the tools." - Courtney K., Lean Residency Participant	"I see the value and importance of this work and get inspired to help as many people/areas as possible. Now I feel equipped to do so and know that this is a lifelong learning journey. Always PDSA…embrace continuous improvement." - Kris A., Lean Residency Participant
"It allows me to have purpose, passion, and potential to be better. Be intentional and just start somewhere. Do not let perfection get in the way of progress." - Stacy K., Lean Residency Participant	"I have a better understanding of process improvement work and identification of the tools used to complete the work. It will allow me to help explain the why and make things visual to the teams I lead to improve outcomes." - Chris S., Lean Residency Participant

  
 2026 Schedule