CCH starts process toward the Baldrige Framework

Thousands of organizations worldwide use the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program Criteria to improve processes and achieve sustainable results. The few organizations recognized as national role models have received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The national award, named after former Secretary of Commerce Malcom Baldrige, was established by Congress in 1987 in response to foreign competition in product and process quality. As a result of the success the program had in improving quality in manufacturing, the Baldrige Framework was extended to healthcare in 1988.

This year, Campbell County Health has begun the process to evaluate performance on a list of activities that are commonly found in high-performing organizations using the Baldrige Framework. The activities are organized into six categories:

1. Leadership
2. Strategic Planning
3. Patient Focus
4. Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge management
5. Workforce Focus
6. Operations Focus

In addition to describing how CCH uses the activities to accomplish what is important for the organization, there are also five types of measurement results that should be tracked:

• Health Care and Process results
• Patient-focused results
• Workforce-focused results
• Leadership and Governance results
• Financial and Market results.

The first step is to work with Rocky Mountain Performance Excellence, a non-profit volunteer organization that recognizes improvement in the region through a graduated set of awards and helps with the application process. CCH is currently applying for the Regional Foothills Award, which is due August 28. No other organization in Wyoming, healthcare or otherwise, has achieved this level of Baldrige recognition.

Baldrige Award winners for healthcare in the Rocky Mountain Region (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) include:

• Poudre Valley Hospital, now part of University of Colorado Health, Ft. Collins, Colorado – 2008
• Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation Center - Mountain Valley, Kellogg, Idaho – 2016

The Baldrige Framework aligns with CCH’s focus on continuous improvement and builds on the Leapfrog Group “A” rating and Top 20 Rural Healthcare award. I expect that this will be a multi-year process as CCH continues to improve performance and examine results internally, externally and with a view toward the future. The process of the Baldrige Excellence Framework is extremely rigorous and will challenge every aspect of the organization to improve.

~ Andy