Robert MacDonell
Six Sigma Black Belt
Saint Joseph Mercy Health System
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Robert MacDonell is a Six Sigma Black Belt with the St. Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) in Ann Arbor, Mich. where he is engaged in leading a variety of process improvement projects throughout the organization.  SJMHS uses both  the rigorous Six Sigma, and Lean methodologies, to focus on breakthrough performance opportunities in patient care, customer service and financial performance.

MacDonell received his Six Sigma training through BMG University, and his process engineering training at the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University.  He is also a graduate of the Organizational Change Leadership program at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.

MacDonell has 35 years experience in health care, 25 of which are in clinical operations management, consulting, process engineering, and Lean Six Sigma process improvement.

Prior to joining SJMHS, a member organization of Trinity Health based in Novi, Mich., MacDonell was the Director of Process Engineering at the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeast Michigan for five years where he led organization-wide initiatives to implement an electronic medical record, improve intake and business operations processes, reduce accounts receivable by $2 million, and reduce days in accounts receivable to less than 30 days. 

Earlier, MacDonell spent 20 years at the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) where he was the Director of Pulmonary Services for eight years at Harper Hospital. He was later appointed Director of the Patient Focused Care Program at the DMC where he was responsible for the implementation of redesigned nursing care and clinical support processes across eight DMC hospitals over a five year period.

MacDonell received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, and his diploma in Respiratory Care from the University of Chicago.