Northwest Health Awarded Highest-Level, Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence
9/16/2021
(SPRINGDALE, Ark.) – The Arkansas Institute for Performance Excellence awarded Northwest Health the highest-level, Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence. An award not presented every year, only 27 Arkansas organizations have received the highest-level award.
Northwest Health and its five hospitals in the area began the journey with the Governor’s Quality Award Program in 2018 to better understand the needs and expectations of the Northwest Arkansas community.
“The feedback received has assisted our health system in strengthening our organization through improved processes, facilitating systematic communication, guidance in strategic thinking and providing our community with continuous opportunities to learn,” said Shanda Guenther, Northwest Health market chief quality officer.
The award process drives organizations toward quality improvement. Organizations self-assess and carefully review the award-level requirements before deciding at which level to apply. Northwest Health first earned the Challenge level award in 2018, Commitment level in 2019 and Achievement level in 2020. Each level increases the requirements of the applicant to describe systematic processes and results. In addition to the award recognition, participants receive an in-depth evaluation and written feedback report citing strengths and areas for improvement.
Patrick Kerrwood, Northwest Health interim market chief executive officer, says the feedback provided throughout the last four years has been vital to Northwest Health.
“As a direct effect of our collaboration with the Governor’s Quality Award program, our organization has developed a roadmap that drives continuous improvement and sustains excellence in the health care we provide,” Kerrwood said.
The goal of the program is to encourage Arkansas organizations to engage in continuous quality improvement, which leads to performance excellence. Created as a not-for-profit organization, the program is dedicated to assist in building a strong infrastructure for Arkansas businesses. The award process aligns with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality award and uses the Baldrige Excellence Framework.
The Governor’s Quality Award program is coordinated by the Arkansas Institute for Performance Excellence, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.
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