The Fall 2015 issue of Frontiers of Health Services Management, a publication of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), features accounts and commentary by leaders of several U.S. health care organizations that have used the Baldrige Excellence Framework to transform their organizations into high-performing national role models as recipients of the Baldrige Award in recent years.
An editorial in the issue by Frontiers of Health Services Management Editor Trudy Land, FACHE, places the Baldrige coverage in the context of "healthcare reform's directives that hospitals and health systems develop more effective and efficient ways of delivering care." In regard to the question, "What frameworks or process improvement approaches are being used by hospitals and health systems to transform their organizations and maximize positive outcomes?" Land observes, "the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program provides organizations with one such framework to identify improvement opportunities, develop best practices, and attain and sustain top performance."
Land notes research by Truven Health Analytics showing that "a significant correlation exists between Baldrige Award recipients and 100 Top Hospitals winners, and adoption of Baldrige practices leads to high performance."
The ACHE publication highlights the "Baldrige journey" stories of both 2014 Baldrige Award recipients in the health care sector: Hill Country Memorial Hospital (Fredericksburg, Texas) and St. David's HealthCare (Austin, Texas). The publication also features commentary by Janet Wagner, who led Sutter Davis Hospital (Davis, California) to receive a Baldrige Award in 2013. In addition, readers will learn how 2011 Baldrige Award-winning Schneck Medical Center (Seymour, Indiana) made the Baldrige framework its business model to become "a fact-based, results-oriented organization."
"These recipients of the Baldrige Award exemplify the sterling achievements in quality and cost-effectiveness that can occur in today's challenging healthcare environment," states Land.
Detailed profiles and contact information for all Baldrige Award recipients is available in a searchable format on the Baldrige Program's website.