Thursday, September 3, 2020

Recognized Again!

Last week, we learned that the GBMC HealthCare System has again been selected for a site visit for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award! This Presidential award is the highest national award for quality and is managed by The United States Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Over the past several years, GBMC has been using the Baldrige Excellence Framework and participating in the award process. In the spring, we submitted a 50-page application responding to questions about our deployment of systems in the categories of leadership, strategy, customers, measurement, and knowledge of management, workforce, operations, and results. 

Of the 20 applications submitted for consideration this year, GBMC was one of only nine selected for a site visit and one of just three in the healthcare category! The site visit will take place the week of September 27 through October 6, when we will be joined by a team of highly-skilled and dedicated volunteer examiners. This year, due to COVID-19, the process will be completely virtual. During this visit, the examiners will validate the information we submitted in our application and provide feedback to help us to continue to improve. They will review all three of our work systems: Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Gilchrist, and GBMC Health Partners.

Following the site visit, the examiner team will submit a report to the Board of Judges. The judges will then determine if we achieve the award. 

Although we did not achieve the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award in 2019, we were the only organization in the country to be recognized for a Category Best Practice in Leadership. The Baldrige judges identified the best practice in how our senior leaders and our Board of Directors guide and sustain the organization. They noted how we fulfill our mission by addressing and responding to community needs. GBMC is the only healthcare organization in Maryland to be recognized by Baldrige for a best practice.

I look forward to sharing our great work more fully with the examiner team during our meetings later this month. I am so proud of our organization and how we have matured in our use of the Baldrige Framework for Excellence. Thank you for your dedication as we move closer to our vision every day! 

Labor Day
As our country celebrates the hard work of the American people this Labor Day holiday, let me thank all my colleagues in our system for all that they do for our patients, especially during the pandemic. Some of us will enjoy a three-day weekend, but many of our people will be serving others in our hospital, hospice, and physician practices, so let me give a special thanks to the members of our team who will be at work during this holiday weekend.

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