Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

2012 AHA-McKesson Quest for Quality Award Winners/Finalists

Quality is the first word that comes to mind when we talk about the American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize. The award emphasizes the Quest for Quality Prize’s ties to the Institute of Medicine’s six aims for improvement: safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable. But throughout the Quest for Quality Prize process, another word in the name is equally important: quest. All health care providers and practitioners are on a quest for quality.
The 2012 AHA-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize honorees have reached important milestones in their quality and performance improvement journeys.  The 2012 Quest for Quality Prize winner, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, created a pervasive and effective culture of quality that has spread throughout the academic medical center, a culture always seeking improvement opportunities. Especially strong in patient-centered care and safety, it emphasizes transparency and broad engagement in quality and performance improvement from its board of trustees to its front-line staff.
Two hospitals are awarded finalist recognition: Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, Bronx, New York, and University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill. A New York City public hospital serving a very challenging population, Lincoln has hardwired clinical pathways and protocols and emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and teamwork to achieve strong results, particularly in the IOM aims of equity and effectiveness. UNC Hospitals, with a statewide and largely rural reach, uses interdisciplinary leadership and a focus on core measures and evidence-based practices to achieve quality and performance improvements and has created a cultural transformation resulting in strong patient satisfaction.
Meriter Hospital, Madison, Wis., is being recognized with a citation of merit for its top-level leadership integration that effectively aligns and actively engages board, clinical and staff leadership.
Fore more than the 11 years of the AHA-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize, all winners and honorees have generously shared their experiences. Equally important, they have shared their passion for continuous improvement. They recognize that although they have come far, they have further to go — their Quest for Quality continues.