News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Hunter Kome
Premier Inc.
704.733.5698
Premier received Site Visit from Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (October 30, 2006) — The Premier Inc. healthcare alliance received a site visit during the week of October 23, 2006 from Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award examiners. Premier is the only service organization to receive a site visit in 2006.
Of the 76 organizations that applied for the 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), only 15 were granted a site visit: one service organization (Premier Inc.), three small businesses, three education organizations, six healthcare provider organizations and two nonprofit organizations.
“It is gratifying to reach the site-visit stage of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, but we recognize that our journey to performance excellence is one that never ends – we can always improve,” said Richard A. Norling, president and CEO of Premier Inc. “We use the Baldrige criteria for that very reason – they provide a dynamic and challenging framework for continuous improvement.”
Premier submitted an application using the Baldrige criteria in May, which was assessed by a group of Malcolm Baldrige National Quality examiners. A team of examiners visited Premier’s Charlotte and San Diego offices interviewing hundreds of employees. Also, employees in Premier’s field force and Washington, D.C. office were contacted by the examiners. The team interviewed employees, observed operations and examined documents to evaluate Premier’s level of performance excellence.
Each year, companies striving for excellence pursue the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award as a measure of their efforts and a catalyst to continuously improve their organizations. Examiners evaluate applicants in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; human resources; process management; and results.
Based on the same criteria, the North Carolina Awards for Excellence (NCAfE) recently awarded its Level 4 Leadership Award to Premier. It was the first Level 4 Award presented in North Carolina since oversight of the program was transferred to North Carolina State University in 2001.
About Premier Inc.
A strategic alliance of more than 1,500 hospitals and 42,000 other
healthcare sites, Premier helps members accelerate clinical and financial
performance. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Premier has offices in
Charlotte, N.C., and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit
www.premierinc.com.
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