The Joint Commission, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., and its nonprofit affiliate, the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, have received the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) Silver Award for Excellence.
The second highest level of recognition awarded by IMEC, the Silver Award is presented to organizations that demonstrate effective, systematic, well-deployed approaches that are aligned with organizational needs and lead to continuous improvement toward excellence.
“Following their recognition in 2020 as an Interest in Excellence organization, the team at The Joint Commission and the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare engaged all aspects of their operations in their continued commitment to organizational excellence,” says David Boulay, president of IMEC. “Even in the midst of a global pandemic, they embraced the process to pursue the elements of continuous improvement and quality that are vital for the success of any organization, especially those serving the health care industry.”
Additionally, award recipients must provide data that demonstrate improvement trends and good performance in the areas necessary to accomplish an organization’s mission.
“The Joint Commission and the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare are pleased to join an elite group of organizations that have successfully accelerated change, growth, and improvement throughout their entire systems,” says Mark R. Chassin, MD, FACP, MPP, MPH, president and CEO of The Joint Commission. “It has been a pleasure to see colleagues across all departments and levels working together to achieve this recognition. Every day, we incorporate Robust Process Improvement (RPI) into our work to improve. Today, 99% of staff who have been with The Joint Commission and the Center for more than a year have been trained in RPI—demonstrating how this approach has become part of our culture.”
The IMEC Recognition Program is the Baldridge-based program serving Illinois. The Baldridge Excellence Framework has empowered organizations to accomplish their missions, improve results, and become more competitive for more than 30 years. Since 1995, IMEC has awarded 14 Gold Awards, 58 Silver Awards, and 120 Bronze Awards.
The Joint Commission and the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare plan to implement the feedback received from IMEC during the evaluation process and will continue to focus efforts on quality improvement.
“We have seen the impacts of Robust Process Improvement as partner organizations have used the tools and training to achieve truly exceptional results for their staff and their patients,” says Anne Marie Benedicto, vice president of the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare. “We are grateful for the recognition and eager to continue helping health care make measurable progress toward zero harm.”
