Medical center, health alliance win national quality awards

The North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo is among three recipients of the 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest presidential honor recognizing organizational performance excellence. The recipients were selected from 76 applicants.

The other two award winners are Premier Inc., a San Diego-based health care alliance owned by nonprofit hospitals and health system organizations; and Mesa Products, a business located in Tulsa, Okla., that designs, manufactures and installs cathodic protection systems which control the corrosion of a metal surface.

Applicants were evaluated by an independent board of examiners in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and results. The medical center won the health care category, Premier won the service category and Mesa topped the small business category.

"For nearly two decades, the Baldrige Award has helped to make quality improvement a national priority and raised awareness about the importance of high standards in the workplace. This year's awards are an opportunity to honor extraordinary achievement and learn more about new strategies to advance our nation's businesses and education and health care organizations," President Bush said in a statement announcing the award winners last month.

Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th secretary of commerce, Congress established the Baldrige Award in 1987 to enhance the competitiveness and performance of U.S. businesses. In 1998, the honor expanded to include education and health care. The 2006 recipients are expected to receive the award in a ceremony in Washington, D.C., early next year.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/12/25/prbf1225.htm.