Use your computer or MP3 player to listen to these MP3 format interviews. New interviews will be added every two weeks.

Baldrige for Healthcare (MP3, 1.83 MB, 14:18)
Michele Serbenski - Executive Director of Corporate Effectiveness and Customer Satisfaction at Bronson Methodist Hospital talks about measuring outcomes, results and processes, the importance of benchmarking and healthcare’s interest in Baldrige.

Pursuing perfection in healthcare using the Baldrige framework (MP3, 1.76 MB, 19:05)
Dennis Keefe, Chief Executive Officer of Cambridge Health Alliance.

Interview with Harry Hertz, Director of the Baldrige National Quality Program (MP3, 1.97 MB, 15:17)

Interview with Frank Sardone, President & CEO of Bronson Methodist Hospital (MP3, 1.89 MB, 13:15)
Hear from a 2005 recipient of the Baldrige Quality Award about their journey to excellence.

Using the Baldrige Criteria as your Organizational Framework for Excellence (MP3, 2.08 MB, 11:45)
Dr. Joe Alexander shares the unique characteristics of the Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business, MBNQA recipient, and how they applied the Baldrige Criteria to helps them achieve excellence in an educational setting.

Applying the Baldrige criteria to a healthcare insurance setting (MP3, 4.14 MB, 10:20)
Martin Preizler, President and CEO of Physicians Plus Insurance Corporation, talks about utilizing the Baldrige critera in an insurance setting and how it helps the healthcare industry.

Systems Perspective, a core value of the Baldrige criteria (MP3, 4.04 MB, 9:59)
Bill Schneider, Learning Coordinator at Meriter Hospital, speaks about what a systems perspective, a core value of the Baldrige Criteria, means in a hospital setting as well as process management.

Baldrige Category 7: Results in a Healthcare Setting (MP3, 4.1 MB, 13:24)
Tim Hallock, Quality and Organizational Improvement Leader, speaks about how St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center translates their mission into measurable results using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria.
Learn more about St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center.

The purpose of the Café Focus Group held at the Quest for Excellence Conference was to solicit input from participants regarding what characteristics of a Baldrige for Healthcare Community would have value for healthcare organizations and individuals that are interested in learning and sharing knowledge and practices that would advance healthcare quality while using the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. In other words, we asked participants to put themselves in a design team role that is charged with creating a Baldrige learning or practice community.

The 37 participants* primarily represented hospital organizations and collectively they had a broad range of experience with the Baldrige framework. Participants ranged from previous Baldrige award winning organizations to organizations that were just beginning to become familiar with “Baldrige.”

Statistically:

• 70% of the participants indicated their organization had at least begun using the Baldrige framework.
• 22% of the participants indicated that their organization had submitted at least one “state award” application.
• 25% of the participants reported that their organization has submitted an application for the Baldrige Award.

* Some organizations were represented by more than one participant.

The Café Focus Group Process: The participants were asked to address two sets of two questions (total of four questions) at tables of approximately six people per table. Each table reported out on the collective discussion and responses to the questions. The summary that follows is a collective summary of the reporting that the tables did on the respective questions. An attempt was made to affinitize the responses into categories, though the creation of the categories was not part of the group exercise.

First Question - What would you consider to be the primary problem or issue that your organization is or would be trying to address by employing the Baldrige framework? (Or, what would your organization be trying to accomplish by using Baldrige?)

Second Question - From what you know and based upon your experience, what are the (2 to 3) greatest challenges that organizations face when they apply Baldrige to their organizations – or in other words, what makes Baldrige difficult to implement?

Third Question - If you were a member of a networking/learning group, what resources would you like to see available that would help your organization address the challenges of implementing Baldrige in you organization?

Fourth Question - If you were charged with creating a Baldrige resource Web site, what are three qualities that such a site would have that would cause you to visit and use the site?

First Question:

What would you consider to be the primary problem or issue that your organization is or would be trying to address by employing the Baldrige framework? (Or, what would your organization be trying to accomplish by using Baldrige?)

The responses put into general categories (by the ASQ group facilitator) were as follows:

Economic Value

• Pressure for reduced cost and improved quality
• Declining reimbursement

Market Recognition

• Center of Excellence: e.g., in nursing care
• Obtain recognition in quality
• Marketplace differentiation
• Performance to maintain competitive edge
• Routine status quo/ good is not enough
• Drive consistent excellence within our region
• Value of externally accepted model to improve

Cultural and Organizational Alignment

• Comprehensive alignment across diverse system
• Consistent framework
• Align the organization to meet the strategic goal
• Communication through organization
• Vertical and horizontal (integration)
• Identifying the gap to get organizational culture
• Common focus – alignment
• Use Baldrige for org. assessment for improvement
• Faster deployment of org. systems
• Lack of deployment/alignment
• Achieving alignment across org IHCO
• Systems organization (alignment)
• Organizational communication
• Catalyst for organizational improvement
• Good individual pieces (e.g., HR finance), but silos (lack of integration for strategic plan)
• Stay focused
• Provides structure for CEOs to address what keeps them up at night
• Gaining buy-in from sr. leadership
• Sustain quality

Need for Systems and Processes

• Systems thinking methodology
• Systems improvement methodology
• Identify and standardize our processes
• Systemizing processes
• Evolving to a process-based culture
• Tool for process and integration
• ID current gaps in the system

Utilize Data and Measurement

• Turn data into information
• Streamline data
• Tools for measurement and measuring the right thing

Other

• Elevate employee satisfaction through innovation/creativity
• Potential for deployment is higher than perceived

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Second Question:

From what you know and based upon your experience, what are the (2 to 3) greatest challenges that organizations face when they apply Baldrige to their organizations – or in other words, what makes Baldrige difficult to implement?

The responses put into general categories (by the ASQ group facilitator) were as follows:

It’s new and different for us (healthcare)

• A new program (to healthcare)
• New way of thinking
• Language is unfamiliar
• Baldrige vocabulary
• Terminology/Baldrige to staff
• Overcome the perception that this is a fad
• Language not familiar
• Understanding the criteria
• Lack of understanding of the system/approach to the criteria

Cultural Buy-in

• Buy-in to change of thinking
• Need to manage the culture change
• Need to recognize existing culture
• Driving a change in organizational culture
• Buy-in from diverse group
• Eliminate silos
• Communication (additional)

The need to focus on data

• Data processing and collection – what is enough
• Lack of data

Healthcare is Different

• Nobody is like us
• Clinical decision-making approach – all decision making not the same
• HC system complexity
• Define HCO’s core business(es)

The need for physician buy-in and participation (something that makes healthcare different)

• Integration of Admin vs. MD
• Getting buy-in from physicians
• Medical staff buy-in/support

It takes a lot of time

• Criteria can be overwhelming
• Convincing others that the “extra” worth is worth it
• Difficult to generate excitement
• Allocation of administrative resources in a small hospital
• Not enough time
• Limited resources misperception – lots of paperwork and unknown outcomes – is it worth it?
• Takes time
• Workload of daily operations
• Ability to make it fun
• Not becoming another layer of work

Getting Leadership Support

• Leadership direction
• Leadership support
• Leadership support/commitment
• Sr. leadership buy-in

Finding Organizations to Benchmark With

• Find organizations to benchmark with
• Benchmarks
• True best-in-class comparisons

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Third Question:

If you were a member of a networking/learning group, what resources would you like to see available that would help your organization address the challenges of implementing Baldrige in you organization?

Facilitator’s Note: Some groups combined the responses to the third and fourth questions. As a result, responses to the third and fourth questions may be quite similar.

The responses put into general categories (by the ASQ group facilitator) were as follows:

Measuring Tools and Techniques

• Access to measurements (valid/calibrated)
• Easily accessible tools
• Up-to-date information

Benchmarking

• Benchmark process that others use
• Network of industry comparisons so “outside” the industry comparisons can be benchmarked
• Benchmark data – key database JCAHO
• Outside industry links to standards and best practices
• Comparative benchmark and standardize data
• How have recipients improved their organization?
• Best Practices and tools comparative datasets
• “Best Practices” and beginning practices

Expert Resources

• Access to criteria experts and peers
• Getting expert advice
• Resource list of individuals based on experience and expertise
• List of vendors “matrix” & ratings & reviews
• Criteria training
• Mentor program at Organizational and Individual levels

Other Resources

• Grants to use to apply/deploy
• PowerPoint standardized presentations, e.g., housekeepers, doctors

Means of Interacting With Community Members

• Multiple levels of exchange
• Chat room
• Support – mental, moral, technical
• Buddy system for purposes of mentoring
• Listserv
• Call center – ability for one to vent issues of implementation
• Sharing “aha’s” – tips

Education

• How to get started, resource stages in maturation as you progress through the criteria
• Earlier/more rapid learning track than Examiner training
• Approaches to implementation

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Fourth Question:

If you were charged with creating a Baldrige resource Web site, what are three qualities that such a site would have that would cause you to visit and use the site?

Facilitator’s Note: Some groups combined the responses to the third and fourth questions. As a result, responses to the third and fourth questions may be quite similar.

The responses put into general categories (by the ASQ group facilitator) were as follows:

Content Formatting

• Need for a place to go for info
• Upcoming education events
• Best practice ideas Q&A/search capability to cut through the “noise”
• Category threads
• Indicators by category
• Segment according to type HCOs (electronic)
• Sharing “aha’s” – tips

Benchmarking

• Data resources outside healthcare
• Sharing best practices
• Benchmarking/comparative info

Other Resources

• Examiners in area speakers’ bureau
• Physician resources
• Practical advice
• Baldrige for Dummies cross referenced
• List of vendors “matrix” & ratings & reviews
• Examples of breaking silos or role modeling
• Tips on “what works” formatting application and category experts on OFIs
• More specific reference source with examples

Technical/style Formatting

• Web site - downloadable PowerPoint and handout forms and summaries
• by levels (size) maturity filters
• Secure, no cookies, pop-ups…
• Listserv for questions
• Easy to navigate (user friendly)
• FAQs
• Customized home page by individual, preference
• Speed of use – category-segmented information
• Don’t overwhelm – controlled amount of info
• (Utilize) a steering committee

If you are reviewing this page, and would like to comment on the observations or provide additional input, click here. Your comments will be posted on a page that is under development.

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