The Budget Committee and Appropriations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives have voted to eliminate all federal funding for the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program for the fiscal year 2012.
We believe the Baldrige program is one of the greatest opportunities healthcare leaders have to improve the quality outcomes and overall performance of our nation’s healthcare organizations. It is also an outstanding example of a public-private partnership that works.
The Baldrige Program will continue in 2012, with some significant changes. View an update on these efforts (PDF) from Harry Hertz, director of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program.
A recent study performed by Thomson Reuters also found that Baldrige Award Recipient Hospitals Significantly Outperform Their Peers. Learn more and access the study here.
Study Shows Baldrige Creates Great Value for the U.S. Economy
In 2001, the Baldrige Program commissioned a study to evaluate the net social value of the program. In 2011, the Baldrige Foundation asked the same economists to take a new look and see if the benefit still existed and to quantify it based on actual applicant data.
The new study, released on Jan. 17, shows an impressive benefit-to-cost ratio of 820 to 1. The ratio is derived from the implementation of cost savings, gains from consumer satisfaction, and gains from increased value of sales in excess of resource costs of those organizations that have applied for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
The report summarizes, "The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, with the imprimatur of national leadership and a prominent national award, creates great value that could not be replicated by private sector actions alone." It continues, "If the social costs were compared to the benefits for the economy as a whole, the benefit-to-cost ratio would be considerably higher."
Learn more about the study here. (PDF)
Baldrige Healthcare Award Recipients Outperform Their Peers
A recent study found that healthcare organizations that have won Baldrige National Quality Awards for performance excellence or been considered for a Baldrige Award site visit outperform other hospitals in nearly every metric used to determine the 100 Top Hospitals, a national recognition given by Thomson Reuters.
Commissioned by the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, a private organization, and conducted by Thomson Reuters, the report found that Baldrige hospitals were six times more likely to be counted among the 100 Top Hospitals, which represent the top 3 percent of hospitals in the United States, and that they statistically outperform the 100 Top Hospitals on core measures established by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Learn more and access the study here.
New Book from the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program
Baldrige 20/20: An Executive’s Guide to the Criteria for Performance Excellence helps executives discover the benefits of using the Baldrige Criteria to strive for excellence, achieve breakthrough performance and face tomorrow’s challenges with confidence.
In this book, leaders of Baldrige Award winners from all sectors share their success stories and eye-opening results from their organization’s journey to excellence. The resource also highlights healthcare improvement, specifically the 2008 award recipient, Poudre Valley Health System, under the leadership of Rulon F. Stacey, PhD, FACHE, president and chief executive officer and current ACHE chairman.
Click here to order your paper copy or download the complimentary PDF version. | 
