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Delaware Quality Award winners announced
10:21 a.m., Dec. 18, 2006--The Delaware Alliance for Excellence--a partnership between the University of Delaware's Division of Professional and Continuing Studies and the Delaware Quality Award Initiative--has announced the recipients of the 2006 awards. Beebe Medical Center won the W. L. Gore Award; Chimes Delaware and Bayhealth Medical Center Inpatient Rehabilitation Center received the Award of Merit; and the Delaware Division of Corporations and the New Castle County Department of Land Use were awarded the Delaware Quality Commitment Award. Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner will present the awards on March 21 in conjunction with the Delaware Quality Conference. “We are committed to excellence in the business, government and nonprofit sectors in Delaware,” Minner said. “Using the Delaware Quality Award criteria for performance excellence can help all organizations make Delaware a better place to work and live.” The Delaware Quality Award was established in 1992 in honor of W. L. (Bill) Gore for the direction he gave his company, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., in promoting excellence, innovation and a positive working environment. In 2005, in order to expand training and consulting services, the initiative was expanded to form the Delaware Alliance for Excellence as a University of Delaware program. Its mission is to educate and support continuous improvement initiatives throughout the region and to recognize the achievement of performance excellence. Applying the federal government's criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the award program examines the essential elements of successfully run organizations, including leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, human resources focus, and process improvement. Beebe Medical Center received Delaware Quality Awards in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and this year earned the W. L. Gore award, Delaware's highest level of recognition for performance excellence. “It is truly an honor for Beebe Medical Center to be selected as the 2006 W. L. Gore Award winner,” Jeffrey M. Fried, president and CEO, said. “The Delaware Quality Award process is excellent because it forces organizations like ours to look inward and challenges us to be honest with ourselves about what we do well, and where we have opportunities for improvement. Performance improvement is fundamental to Beebe's culture as it reminds us every day to think about how we can improve our processes and subsequently the care we provide our patients.” Founded in 1916, Beebe has become the premier health-care facility in Sussex County, serving a thriving resort area and a growing year-round population. The focus at Beebe Medical Center is on process improvement by analyzing and redesigning processes to make them work correctly every time and to improve quality and safety and reduce costs. Chimes Delaware, recipient of an Award of Merit, began operations in 1994 serving people with severe autism. Demand for its services grew, and 12 years later it provides programs throughout the state for individuals with a broad range of severe and challenging behaviors. Services include residential, day habilitation, vocational training and employment services. Terry Allen Perl, Chimes' CEO and president, said, “The Delaware Quality Award process is a great opportunity to assess our performance against validated criteria and obtain feedback. Receiving the Merit Award gives our dedicated workforce recognition for a job well-done. This is a real morale booster.” An Award of Merit also was earned by Bayhealth Medical Center's Inpatient Rehabilitation Center. Bayhealth Medical Center is Delaware's second largest health care system, focusing primarily on service to Kent and Sussex counties. The Inpatient Rehabilitation Center provides comprehensive physical rehabilitation in a coordinated and integrated approach based on the individual needs of each patient. Bayhealth's CEO and president, Dennis Klima, commented on the value of participation of the Inpatient Rehabilitation team in the award process. “Valuable insights were gained while doing internal analyses of our systems and processes compared to the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.” The Delaware Division of Corporations received a Delaware Quality Commitment Award. The Division, a part of the Delaware Department of State, processes more than 500,000 corporate and commercial filing and information requests annually and is responsible for handling 22 percent of the state's general fund revenue. “Delaware is the national leader in business entity formations, and we are excited about this independent recognition of our commitment to providing the world's corporate and legal services community with high-quality products and first-class customer service,” Secretary of State Harriet Smith Windsor said. The New Castle County Land Use Department also received a Delaware Quality Commitment Award. The department's employees handle services from development of plan reviews to building permits, property inspections and tax assessments. The department's goal is to protect and preserve the quality of life for all New Castle County residents, now and in the future. “The Land Use Department strives to provide outstanding customer service to the citizens of the county,” Charles L. Baker, general manager, said. “The evaluation process required for the Delaware Quality Award provided us with an excellent tool for self-analysis. As a result of the process, we identified opportunities to improve services as we focus on the safety and needs of our constituents and those who do business in the county.” Chris Coons, New Castle County Executive, added, “The Delaware Quality Award is demanding and difficult, but ultimately leads to improvements in efficiency and service. Congratulations to the leadership and staff of the Department of Land Use for successfully undertaking the Delaware Quality Award process.” “We are honored to recognize all the award winners for their efforts,” John Riabov, executive director of the Delaware Alliance for Excellence, said. “The commitment these organizations make to achieving performance excellence is extremely commendable in itself. This is a continuous improvement journey, based on validated management practices, which can result in long-term success for organizations.” The Delaware Alliance for Excellence is housed at UD's Downtown Center for Performance Excellence at 8th and King Streets in Wilmington. For more information, contact John Riabov at [jriabov@udel.edu] or (302) 571-5239, or visit [www.DAE.udel.edu]. |
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