MassExcellence—Announcements
MassExcellence Award Recipient, ACTION AMBULANCE SERVICE, wins STEVIE AWARD for BEST OVERALL COMPANY OF THE YEAR
The Stevie awards were presented during ceremonies at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The ceremonies were hosted by Cheryl Casone of Fox Business Network and broadcast nationwide on radio by the Business TalkRadio Network.
In winning the Stevie, Action Ambulance Service beat out other finalists including Empire Today, Quality Systems, Inc., and Sundance Vacations.
Stevie Awards were presented in over 40 categories including Best Overall Company of the Year, Executive of the Year, and Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year. More than 2,700 entries from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration.
More than 200 executives across the country participated in the judging process to determine the Finalists and Stevie Award winners.
"This award is a testament to our outstanding leadership team, the dedicated EMT's, Paramedics, Transportation Specialist and support staff of Action Ambulance Service. Together they are all part of an award winning team that other organizations wish to emulate."
- said Action Ambulance Service Chief Executive Officer Mike Woronka, (978-253-2606)
About Action Ambulance
Action Ambulance Service has been a leader in EMS in Eastern Massachusetts for over 30 years. Action provides 24-hour emergency and non-emergency pre-hospital medical care and transportation to over a million residents of Boston's north suburbs, covering over 112 square miles and responds to over 35,000 calls a year.
About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.
Sponsors and partners of The 2010 American Business Awards include Infogroup, Netezza, CIGNA, Citrix Online, Epic Advertising, High Performance Technologies Inc., imagistic, John Hancock, LifeLock, Lionbridge, Optimum Lightpath, PetRays, RCN, and SoftPro.
Review the Latest Accomplishments by Members of Our Leadership Team
Root Cause Analysis and Improvement in the Healthcare Sector:
A Step-by-Step Guide Bjørn Andersen, Tom Fagerhaug, and Marti Beltz
Healthcare organizations and professionals have long needed a straightforward workbook to facilitate the process of root cause analysis (RCA). While other industries employ the RCA tools liberally and train facilitators thoroughly, healthcare has lagged in establishing and resourcing a quality culture. Presently, a growing number of third-party stakeholders are holding access to accreditation and reimbursement pending demonstration of a full response to events outside of expected practice. An increasing number of exceptions to healthcare practice have precipitated a strong response advocating the use of proven quality tools in the industry. In addition, the industry has now expanded its scope beyond the hospital walls to many ancillary healthcare facilities with little experience in implementing quality tools. This book responds to the demand for a RCA workbook written specifically for healthcare, yet still broad in its definition of the industry. This book contains everything that the typical RCA leader in healthcare requires:
- A text specific to healthcare, but using the broadest definition of the industry to include not only acute care hospitals, but rehabilitation facilities, long-term care facilities, outpatient surgery centers, ambulatory services, and general office practices.
- A workbook-style format that walks through the process, step-by-step. Straightforward text without "sidebars," "tables," and "tips." Worksheets are provided at the end of the book to reduce reader distraction within the text.
- A wide range of real-world examples.
- Format for use by the most naive of users and most basic of processes, as well as a separate section for more advanced users or more complex issues.
- Templates, both print and electronic, included for the reader's use.
- Ready-to-use educational materials with scripting to enable the user to train others and garner support for the use of the techniques.
- Background text for users in leadership to understand the tools in the larger context of healthcare improvement.
- Up-to-date information on the latest in the use of RCA in satisfying mandatory reporting requirements and slaying the myth that the process is onerous and fraught with barriers.
- Background text and tools/process are separated to facilitate the readers' specific needs. Healthcare leaders can appreciate the current context and requirements without wading through the actual techniques; end-users can begin learning the skills without wading through dense administrative text.
- Language and tone promoting the use of the tools for improvement of processes that have experienced exceptions, as opposed to assigning blame for errors.
- Attention to process ownership, training, and resourcing.
- And, most importantly, thorough description of the improvement process as well as the analysis.
Journey to Excellence: How Baldrige Health Care Leaders Succeed
Kathleen J. Goonan, MD, Joseph A. Muzikowski, and Patricia K. StoltzThis book is based on several years study of the nine Baldrige Award winners from health care. It describes how these organizations approached their "Baldrige journey" and what other health care leaders should do to reap similar benefits. To fully understand the journey for these nine organizations and their return on investment, the authors studied each of their 50-page award applications, presentations at national and regional meetings, and other publications by or about them. Additionally and most importantly, CEOs and other senior leaders were interviewed at length. The questions asked of these leaders followed three basic themes:
- How did you successfully use the Baldrige framework to drive improvement?
- What would you recommend other organizations do to gain the value you have from a Baldrige journey?
- What can we learn from you that would help other organizations manage their improvement journeys to maximize the value they gain?
A Framework to Build Solid Growth
E4 = Efficiency, Effectiveness, Enrichment and Excellence
Earn an E4 Certificate in Organizational Excellence
A Program Based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
In eight sessions this summer at Southern Vermont College, learn the tools of the trade that have set successful business leaders apart from the rest: Organizational Excellence. Based on the criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (accepted widely as the standard in performance excellence in business), participants in the new E4 Certificate program in Organizational Excellence will learn to help their organizations enhance their competitiveness by focusing on two goals: delivering ever-improving value to customers and improving overall organizational performance.
In today's difficult economic environment, with the frequency of reduced revenues and limited resources, no organization can rely on conducting business as usual. SVC's new certificate is designed to involve and educate leaders and employees of organizations in the region with continuous improvement, cultural change, and overall operational excellence to create long-term sustainability and competitive advantage.
SVC's program will provide a practical application of quality tools and the theoretical framework to build solid growth and productivity, create a culture of innovation and change, and increase personal and professional development.
All courses will be taught by Kay Kendall, Executive Director for MassExcellence, the Massachusetts-based, non-profit award and education program using the criteria from the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program. Deneault is also President of the Northeast Center for Performance Excellence, a New England consulting consortium guiding companies to achieve their highest level of performance by using the Baldrige framework. He is an adjunct faculty member at Bentley University in Waltham, MA, and Rivier College in Nashua, NH. He is a seven-term member, senior and alumni member of the National Baldrige Board of Examiners.
For more information, contact The SVC McCormick Division of Business at 802-681-2898, or e-mail: businessprograms@svc.edu.
