Poudre Valley Health System, a private not-for-profit healthcare organization in northern Colorado, has won the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez announced the 2008 recipients of the Baldrige Award on Tuesday. The award is the nation's highest Presidential honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence.
The 2008 Baldrige recipients were selected from a field of 85 applicants. All were evaluated by an independent board of examiners in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results.
The evaluation process for each Baldrige recipient includes about 1,000 hours of review and an on-site visit by a team of examiners to clarify questions and verify information in the applications.
PVHS provides healthcare services through two hospitals (Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colo., and the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colo.) and a network of clinics and care facilities. The health system serves patients in northern Colorado, western Nebraska and southern Wyoming.
With annual revenues of $330.5 million, PVHS has maintained competitive healthcare costs when compared to local competitors who have a similar patient base and to the average healthcare costs in the Denver metropolitan area, which is the PVHS secondary service area.
In 2006, for instance, the average PVHS charge was $2,000 lower than its main competitor and $7,000 lower than the Denver metro rate.
PVHS has been lauded for involving patients and the community in its strategic planning, goal setting and improvement initiatives. For example, community, staff and stakeholder input was incorporated into the planning and building of the Medical Center of the Rockies. This included aspects such as the layout of the emergency rooms, the views from the patient room windows (with the majority facing the mountains), healing gardens and family amenities such as showers and kitchens.
The health system also works with local community leaders to identify and address specific health needs in the region. Community wellness, education and preventive health programs have been established for heart disease, prenatal issues, child safety and injury avoidance, among others. PVHS reports that total community support surpassed $110 million - or greater than 25 percent of net patient revenue - in 2007.
The Baldrige program is managed by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology in conjunction with the private sector. Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the Baldrige Award was established by Congress in 1987 to enhance the competitiveness and performance of U.S. businesses.
The award promotes excellence in organizational performance, recognizes the achievements and results of U.S. organizations and publicizes successful performance strategies.
NIST reports that more than 10 million copies of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence have been distributed since 1988, and about 2 million copies are downloaded annually.
In addition to PVHS, the 2008 Baldrige Award recipients are Cargill Corn Milling North America of Wayzata, Minn. (manufacturing) and Iredell-Statesville Schools of Statesville, N.C. (education).