Secretary Evans delivered the news of the award to John Heer, president of Baptist Hospital Inc., in a telephone call on Monday. "We are extremely honored and pleased to have been recognized as one of the premier organizations in the country," Heer said. " This award demonstrates the commitment Baptist has toward its patients, employees, physicians and the community.
"A special thanks is in order for the support and determination of the Board of Trustees and all of the employees of Baptist. While this is a great honor, it is not the end. We intend to continue our focus on providing excellent patient satisfaction, sustaining a culture which respects and honors our staff, and providing high quality healthcare in a warm, caring environment."
To be considered for the Baldrige Award, Baptist Hospital Inc. was required to prove it has a world-class management system that fosters ongoing service excellence and continual improvements. After two thorough reviews of Baptist’s application and supporting data, six examiners from the Baldrige National Quality Program spent three days last month interviewing more than 300 employees and examining hundreds of documents at the three entities that comprise Baptist Hospital Inc.: Baptist Hospital, Gulf Breeze Hospital and Baptist Medical Park on Nine Mile Road.
"I am humbled to be part of an organization receiving so great an honor," said Al Stubblefield, president of Baptist Health Care, the parent company of Baptist Hospital Inc. "This award assures us that Baptist Health Care is well on its way to fulfilling its vision of being the best healthcare organization in America."
Named for the late Secretary of Commerce, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was established by Congress in 1987 to raise awareness about the importance of quality and performance excellence. The award’s intensive application and review process is designed to help organizations examine their own performance.
Baldrige Awards are given annually. Other winners of the 2003 award include Boeing Aerospace Support, Caterpillar Financial Services, Medrad Inc., Stoner Inc., Palatine, Ill. Community Consolidated School District 15, and Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City. Previous winners include The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., Xerox Business Services, Armstrong World Industries, Texas Instruments and Federal Express. This year 68 U.S. businesses applied for the Baldrige Award.
This was the fourth consecutive year that the Baldrige National Quality Program has honored Baptist Hospital Inc. with a site visit, which in itself indicates an organization is a high performing one. Feedback reports from each successive visit inspired Baptist Hospital Inc. to implement a number of initiatives that enhanced its delivery of world-class healthcare.
Achieving the Baldrige Award goes a long way in reaffirming Baptist Health Care’s mission to provide the highest quality health care in a Christian environment to the people and communities it serves.
For more information about the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, please visit the Baldrige National Quality Program Website
