Naida L. Grunden

Naida Grunden

A professional writer for over 20 years, Naida has spent the past decade documenting the increasing acceptance of Toyota-based processes (lean) in health care. Her book, The Pittsburgh Way to Efficient Healthcare, captured the seminal work of the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI), during the introduction of lean in competing hospitals across Southwestern Pennsylvania. She received the American College of Clinical Engineering Challenge Award for her documentation of lean in healthcare.

Naida continues to write, teach and speak nationally and internationally on the topic of Toyota-based principles in health care. She also shares an interest in applying aviation safety and reliability concepts to healthcare.

Naida holds a BA in English from California State University, East Bay, and a California secondary English teaching credential from California State University, San Francisco.

Charles V. Hagood, MBA

Charles Hagood

Charles is the Founder and President of Healthcare Performance Partners, Inc., a Nashville, Tennessee based Lean Healthcare Consulting firm, which works with the largest for-profit and not for profit hospital systems in the USA.  HPP is a MedAssets Company. He was also the co-founder and former Managing Principal of The Access Group, LLC , an international manufacturing services and lean enterprise consulting firm whose clients included such companies as GE, Tyco, Cessna, and Ford plus many other automotive, aerospace, and consumer goods manufacturers.  He is the creator and editor of the popular LeanHealthcareExchange.com site and founding faculty member of the Belmont University Lean Healthcare Certificate Program. 

Charles received his MBA from the Belmont University Massey School of Business in Nashville, Tennessee. Charles is also an adjunct faculty member of the Massey School of Business.