Mon Health Embarks on Leadership and Performance Excellence Journey

Mon Health recently adopted the Baldrige Excellence criteria and is in pursuit of The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Created by the Reagan Administration in the late 1980s, the leadership and performance excellence program empowers organizations to accomplish their mission and demonstrate world-class performance and improvement processes. The Baldrige Award is the only formal recognition of the performance excellence of both public and private U.S. organizations given by The President of the United States. Since 1988, there have been 105 awards that have been presented to 99 organizations (including six repeat winners) across six eligible categories – manufacturing, service, education, health care, government and non-profit. In 2016, Mon Health became an organizational member of The Partnership for Excellence, (TPE) the state Baldrige-based program for West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana. During the initial year of the Baldrige program, Mon Health completed the first leg of the program – the advising stage. Brian Hawthorne, MD, Mon General Hospital Vice President/Medical Director, and Jennifer Nestor, Preston Memorial Hospital Vice President of Operations, both became certified state Baldrige Examiners by completing 150 hours of training. Several members of the Mon Health executive team also attended two conferences to kick off the initiative. Darryl Duncan, President and CEO of Mon Health is on the Board of Directors of The Partnership for Excellence. “With the help of the Baldrige Criteria, Baldrige Examiners and the Baldrige community, the program aims to promote excellence, educate leaders, and honor those who are national role models,” Dr. Hawthorne said. “The focus of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program is in harmonious agreement with the mission and vision of Mon Health, and we anticipate that participation in the Baldrige program will result in an even higher level of excellence for our organization.” At the recent TPE Quest for Success conference held in Columbus, OH, Hawthorne and Nestor accepted the Partnership for Excellence Spirit Award for their completion of the organizational profile. Mon Health is beginning the next stage of the Baldrige program which includes a complete award application. As part of addressing the Baldrige Excellence Framework, Mon Health implemented Lean Six Sigma, a performance improvement system. Lean Six Sigma focuses on reducing waste and teaching techniques and tools for process improvement. Participants’ level of training in Lean Six Sigma is marked by obtaining different-colored belts. For instance, Green Belts receive one week of class time which covers the important aspects of the statistical methods needed to complete Lean Six Sigma projects. Last year, 45 Mon Health employees received either green or yellow belt certifications in Lean Six Sigma.