Vanderbilt University Medical Center is among nine recipients of the 2012 Achievement Award from the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE).
Increasingly intensive stepwise evaluation by TNCPE is a stepping stone to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
“The evaluation process shared by TNCPE and the Baldrige program is valuable for helping us find opportunities to improve,” said David Posch, CEO, Vanderbilt University Hospital and Clinics. “I want to thank and congratulate everyone who contributed to our award application this year and who participated in the site visit.”
TNCPE named 35 award winners for 2012 from manufacturing, education, health care and other service industries, government and the non-profit sector. Organizations apply at one of four levels. As the levels increase, so does the depth and complexity of the application, which is based on the Baldrige Award’s criteria for performance excellence.
The Achievement Award is one step below the top TNCPE award, called the Excellence Award, which went to two organizations in 2012: Bristol Tennessee Essential Services (a public utility) and Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.
Posch said VUMC will apply for the Excellence Award next year, with an eye to applying eventually for a Baldrige National Quality Award.
Maury Regional Medical Center, in Columbia, Tenn., was among 39 applicants for the 2012 Baldrige National Quality Award, and while they were not among the four national winners, they were among three organizations recognized for best practices.
A charter member of the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network, Maury Regional won a TNCPE Excellence Award in 2009.
“Maury Regional is among the best community health centers anywhere, and we join them in celebrating this latest distinction,” Posch said.
Other 2012 Achievement Award winners include the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the City of Germantown, Mountain Home Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, and selected skilled nursing and assisted living programs operated by National Healthcare Corp.
