Henry Ford Health System Awarded Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DETROIT – Henry Ford Health System will receive the official Baldrige Award for performance excellence, Sunday evening, April 15, in Washington, DC.

The presentation will be made by Secretary of Commerce John Bryson to Henry Ford Health System CEO Nancy Schlichting.

Henry Ford was one of only four 2011 recipients and the only organization in Michigan to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

“The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is a symbol of the highest standards of excellence, and we are extremely proud and humbled to have been selected,” says Schlichting.

Named after the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the award was established in 1987 by Congress to promote quality awareness, to recognize quality and business achievements of U.S. organizations, and to publicize these organizations’ successful performance strategies.

Now America’s highest honor for innovation and performance excellence, the Baldrige Award is presented annually to U.S. organizations by the office of the President of the United States. Awards are given to companies in manufacturing, service, small business, education, health care, and nonprofit sectors. In conjunction with the private sector, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) manages the award and the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program.

In a profile of Henry Ford, the Malcolm Baldrige examiners wrote:

• Henry Ford Health’s leaders model and support entrepreneurism throughout the health care delivery system, research operations, and the Health Alliance Plan. Innovative strategies and solutions have been developed and implemented for the past decade, helping reduce unintended patient harm and establishing a “zero-defect, no-excuses” approach to health care outcomes.
• Among the best-in-class innovations at Henry Ford Health: the Perfect Depression Program, which uses an evidenced-based, integrated approach to address chronic depression; Home Health Services, Pharmacy Advantage, and OptimEyes (optometry care) - all services with a retail presence to increase brand recognition and access to new customers; and the West Bloomfield “hospital model,” in which a new hospital was built from scratch with the active involvement of the community (resulting in a facility with features such as a Culinary Wellness Program and an innovative building design with a “Main Street” feel).

Henry Ford Health System, one of the country's largest and most comprehensive integrated health care systems, is a national leader in clinical care, research and education. The system includes the 1,200-member Henry Ford Medical Group, five hospitals, Health Alliance Plan (a health insurance and wellness company), Henry Ford Physician Network, a 150-site ambulatory network and many other health-related entities throughout southeast Michigan, providing a full continuum of care. In 2010, Henry Ford provided nearly $200 million in uncompensated care. The health system also is a major economic driver in Michigan and employs more than 24,000 people. The health system is led by CEO Nancy Schlichting. To learn more, visit HenryFord.com.