Baldrige-winning hospitals a ‘revolution’ in management

By Malorie Burkett

A revolution in hospital management is under way, according to a recent article in the Journal of Healthcare Management by Kenneth R. White, Ph.D., associate professor and director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Graduate Program in Health Administration.

White co-wrote the article with John R. Griffith, a hospital management expert from the University of Michigan.

White and Griffith examined winners of the Baldrige National Quality Award in Healthcare to look both at their practices and at the effects on their organizations. They examined leadership, strategy, patient relations, worker relations, information management, operations and results.

“These institutions’ achievements set a new standard for performance accountability and excellence that we believe is a revolution in hospital management,” said White. “Simply put, they have shown how to run health care organizations substantially better than is typical.”

Their article in the May/June journal details numerous results at Baldrige-winning hospitals, including:
• improvement of admitting physician satisfaction by one quarter and a patient satisfaction increase to 99th percentile
• a boost in cash collections by one third and improved net income per full time equivalent employee by half
• a decline by 40 percent in OSHA incidents

The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce, aim to improve productivity, effectiveness and communication. The criteria have been used by thousands of companies in many industries to improve performance, and Baldrige winners have historically outperformed their sectors.

According to White and Griffith, the hospitals’ approach has been tested in over 100 diverse American communities, suggesting it is an appropriate model for most American hospitals and health care systems.

Griffith and White chose the first three Baldrige-winning hospitals and health systems to study: Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, Fla; SSM Health Care, located in seven markets of Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma; and St. Luke’s Health Care in Kansas City, Mo.; plus two other systems that document their results, Catholic Health Initiatives, in 64 communities in 19 states; Intermountain Health Care, with facilities in 27 communities in Utah and Idaho.

White said he knows of no other documented work that looks at corporate-level health care management like this research project.

White has over 30 years experience in hospitals as clinician, administrator and consultant. His research interests include non-profit healthcare organizations; the strategic direction of the health professions, particularly nursing and health administration; hospital response to provision of HIV/AIDS services; and religious sponsorship of health care. He received his doctorate in health services organization and research from Virginia Commonwealth University.