Here's the simple truth about us:  we have been there and done it.  We've sat through OR Committee meetings in which we knew exactly what needed to happen, but our hands were tied because the surgeons didn't believe the block utilization reports.  We've commiserated with those perplexed by why the left-without-being-seen rate of our ER was rising while everyone was working harder than ever.  We've participated in bed huddles, and made plans at the beginning of the morning just to realize that at the end of the day all of those plans were blown out of water because the OR and ER admitted more than we had anticipated.

Were we deterred?  NO.  We saw challenges. And we saw opportunities: we needed more and better information to make better decisions.  It was so obvious to us:  IF WE JUST HAD THE RIGHT INFORMATION AT THE RIGHT TIME, THIS WOULD BE SO EASY TO MANAGE.

We sat with the reporting department.  The IT department.  Decision support department.   We hired analysts.  We hired report writers.  Then someone said that the information system we are dealing with is not sufficient.  We need a new system.  We spent millions investing in new systems.  We hired different analysts.

Let's not even mention the number of consultants we hired to fix the problems.  Specialists, generalists and on and on.   We sometimes felt that we trained more kids coming right out of school than their professors ever did.  

Months passed. Years passed.  The OR Utilization was still between 65 to 70%, our surgeons still didn't believe the analysis, our ER performance is up and down and the bed huddles, well, they are still a nice social get together.  

Through all these years we all found ourselves thinking the same thing:  WHY IS THIS SO HARD?  IT WOULD BE SO EASY IF ONLY WE HAD THE RIGHT INFORMATION AT THE RIGHT TIME.

This is where brighthospital comes in.  brighthospital's mission is to help hospitals become more efficient  by combining hospital operations know-how with proven analytical methods and an inclusive change management process that gets things done. 

Hakan Ilkin, MBA

Hakan Ilkin has been scouting the corridors of hospitals since 1994, looking for ways to improve hospital operations.  He started his career as the Surgical Service IT coordinator at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The entrepreneurial bug bit him hard when he assumed the roles as Founder and CEO of PeriOptimum, a company focusing on surgical services performance improvement. Most recently he held the position of VP, Operational Excellence, at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.   

Aydin, Hakan's 11 year old son, consumes -happily and willingly- nearly all of his father's attention beyond his commitments to brighthospital.

W. David Watkins, MS, MD, PhD

Dr. Watkins' resume competes with an average size Dostoyevsky novel.  MS and PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology; clinical, research and administrative positions at some of the world's prominent hospitals, including Mass General, Duke, UPittMC; Professor and chair of Anesthesiology / Critical Care Medicine; and, expertise in Clinical Trials design and conduct highlight his long career.

In his role as a clinical leader, a major challenge he initially inherited and subsequently embraced as a major research area centered on improving surgical services operations--getting surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and administrators to work together toward common goals, emphasizing the delivery of quality and efficient patient care. It should be no surprise that he has no hair left!  His common interest, work, and friendship with Hakan led to founding PeriOptimum and subsequently brighthospital.   

Dr. Watkins lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his wife, Sharon, and their 4 year old Havanese, Maximilian.