WASHINGTON – A hospital in Illinois known as "Good Sam," and a healthcare consulting group in Florida, are among the seven 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winners. Information technology is at the core of the operations for both winners.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced the awards – billed as the nation's highest presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership – on Tuesday.

Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, in Downers Grove, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, is an acute-care hospital that has evolved in the past 30 years from a 333-bed community hospital to a nationally recognized leader in healthcare, known for its services in cardiology, gastroenterology, stroke care, women's health, and behavioral health. It features a Level I trauma center and a certified level III neonatal intensive care unit. "Good Sam" is part of Advocate Health Care, a top 10 health system in the nation.

Studer Group is a private, for-profit healthcare consulting firm that provides coaching, teaching, and evidenced-based tools and tactics to healthcare organizations throughout the United States. It is led by founder and CEO Quint Studer.

"This year's recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award embody the ingenuity and creativity that characterizes the American spirit and drives America forward," Locke said. "Innovation is at the heart of U.S. job creation, competitiveness and global strength, and the accomplishments of these outstanding leaders are an inspiration to us all."

"This award is unique in that it honors the collective effort of an entire organization that has systematically strived to achieve excellence in all aspects of its work. Today's honorees demonstrate how teamwork and a shared vision can lead not only to organizational success but also to nationwide advancements in innovation and economic competitiveness."

A few highlights from "Good Sam's" performance:

• Good Samaritan Hospital demonstrates high levels of performance in many process measures for clinical outcomes. For example, risk-adjusted mortality (overall mortality divided by expected mortality where 1 is the standard) decreased from 0.55 in 2007 to 0.42 in 2010, exceeding the six-county top-decile level as measured by Thomson Reuters.
• Good Samaritan Hospital uses a 12-step process to determine key factors that affect workforce engagement and satisfaction, and, then, to assess Good Samaritan Hospital's effectiveness in addressing those factors. The hospital uses the results, which are segmented by job classifications and work units, to determine organizational and department tactics for improvement.
• Overall patient satisfaction exceeds top-decile ratings from Press Ganey, the largest national surveyor of patient satisfaction, for all patient segments: inpatient, outpatient, and emergency.
• Good Samaritan Hospital uses a 12-step process to determine key factors that affect workforce engagement and satisfaction, and, then, to assess Good Samaritan Hospital's effectiveness in addressing those factors.
• With a focus on "funding the future," Good Samaritan Hospital has received an AA bond rating and contributed to Advocate Health Care's systemwide AA rating. Good Samaritan Hospital's net operating margin increased from 5.98 percent in 2007 to 7.39 percent in 2009, exceeding that of AA-rated hospitals and representing a top-decile (in the upper 10 percent) performance in the industry.
• Good Samaritan Hospital's total insurance expense for malpractice declined 51 percent from 2006 to 2009, falling from approximately $12 million to approximately $5 million. In addition, Good Samaritan Hospital received a $2 million refund from its primary payor due to a reduction in the risk-adjusted rate related to malpractice.

Studer Group highlights are on the next page.