Three U.S. Organizations Honored with the 2013 Baldrige National Quality Award

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker today announced that three U.S. organizations will receive the 2013 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest Presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership. All of this year's winners are from the health care and education sectors.

The 2013 Baldrige Award recipients—listed with their category—are:

• Pewaukee School District, Pewaukee, Wis. (education)
• Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano, Plano, Texas (health care)*
• Sutter Davis Hospital, Davis, Calif. (health care)

"I am happy to congratulate the 2013 Baldrige Award recipients, three organizations that are leading innovative practices, dynamic management, sound financial performance, outstanding employee and customer satisfaction, and a solid commitment to excellence and proven results," said Secretary Pritzker. "The Baldrige program has had a tangible impact on the success of thousands of organizations worldwide and our nation's economy, and the winners announced today will undoubtedly continue that legacy and serve as role models for their peers in the health care and education sectors."

The 2013 Baldrige Award recipients were selected from a field of 22 applicants that were evaluated rigorously by an independent board of examiners in seven areas defined by the Baldrige Criteria: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; operations focus; and results. An organization may compete for the award in one of six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, health care, education and nonprofit (including government agencies).

The Baldrige Program has real benefits for the organizations that follow the criteria and for the nation's economy. A December 2011 study measuring the Baldrige Program's value to U.S. organizations conservatively estimated a benefit-to-cost ratio of 820 to 1. In a 2011 report, Truven Health Analytics found that health care organizations that have won or been in the final review process for a Baldrige Award were six times more likely to be among its annual "100 Top Hospitals" and outperformed other hospitals in all but one metric the company uses to determine its list.

A study of the six organizations to win two Baldrige Awards found that for the years between awards their median growth in revenue was 93 percent and the median growth in jobs was 66 percent. The job growth was significantly higher than the average growth in jobs of 2.5 percent for matched industries and time periods.

Thousands of organizations worldwide use the Baldrige Criteria to guide their operations, improve performance and get sustainable results. This proven improvement and innovation framework offers organizations an integrated approach to key management areas. The criteria are regularly updated to reflect the leading edge of validated management practice.

To date, more than 1,500 U.S. organizations have applied for the Baldrige Award, and there are Baldrige-based award programs in nearly all 50 states. Internationally, the program has served as a model for nearly 100 excellence programs.

The Baldrige judges also recognize best practices in one or more of the Baldrige Criteria categories by organizations that are candidates for the award but are not selected as a winner. This year, the judges have chosen to honor two health care organizations for their best practices in the leadership criterion:

• Duke University Hospital, Durham, N.C.
• Hill Country Memorial, Fredericksburg, Texas

The 2013 Baldrige Award will be presented at an April 2014 ceremony during the Quest for Excellence conference in Baltimore, Md.

Established by Congress in 1987, the Baldrige Award is managed by the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP) of the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in cooperation with the private sector. It also is a partner in the Baldrige Enterprise, which includes the private-sector Baldrige Foundation, the Alliance for Performance Excellence—a body made up of more than 30 state, local, regional and sector-specific Baldrige-based programs serving nearly all of the United States; and ASQ, an international organization promoting quality. The program raises awareness about the importance of performance excellence in driving the U.S. and global economy; provides organizational assessment tools and criteria; educates leaders in businesses, schools, health care organizations, and government and nonprofit organizations about the practices of national role models; and recognizes them with the Baldrige Award.

The Baldrige Award is not given for specific products or services. Since the first group was recognized in 1988, 102 awards have been presented to 96 organizations (including six repeat winners).

For more information, including profiles of the 2013 Baldrige Award recipients, go to http://www.nist.gov/baldrige.

As a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department, NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.

*Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano withdrew from the Baldrige Award process in Feb. 2014. A statement from Baylor is available here.