The new 2009–2010 Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence include significant changes from the 2008 Criteria, and Wisconsin Forward Award offered one of the first sessions in the nation to explore and clarify those changes in January. Now, Dr. Mark Blazey, author of the popular Insights to Performance Excellence, returns on June 30 and July 1 at Mercy Health System in Janesville for an encore of his in-depth review of the 2009–2010 Criteria.

This interactive session is appropriate for anyone interested in learning how the Baldrige framework can impact organizational performance, making good organizations great ones. Both experienced practitioners of the Baldrige Criteria looking to understand it on a higher level and participants learning about it for the first time have praised Dr. Blazey for his extensive knowledge of the Criteria and their application in countless case studies throughout the world.

If you are using the Baldrige framework to manage your organization, planning to submit an application to Baldrige or a state quality award program like WFA, assembling a portfolio for AQIP or another Baldrige-aligned accreditation program, or are just looking for a powerful model to transform your organization and drive high performance, this workshop is for you! Please contact WFA at (608) 663-5300 or at info [AT] forwardaward [DOT] org for more information, or click here for registration materials.

The Baldrige National Quality Program has announced the host states for the 2008 and 2009 Regional Conferences. Wisconsin is very happy to be selected, along with Massachusetts, as a 2009 host state.

The Wisconsin conference takes on September 15 in Milwaukee. Click here for registration details.

Congratulations to the three organizations just announced as recipients of the 2008 Baldrige National Quality Award! 2008 recipients include:

• Cargill Corn Milling North America (CCM), Wayzata, Minnesota (manufacturing)
• Iredell-Statesville Schools, Statesville, North Carolina (education)
• Poudre Valley Health System, Fort Collins, Colorado (health care)

Read the BNQP press release here.

WFA Board of Directors member and Wisconsin State Public Defender Nick Chiarkas discusses how his office has become a standard-bearer for executing its constitutional responsibilities despite daunting challenges over his 20-year tenure in an article in the September 2008 issue of Wisconsin Lawyer. Read the article online by clicking here.

Wisconsin Forward Award congratulated fifteen Wisconsin organizations at its upcomong Award Ceremony & Gala Reception on July 8, 2008. Agnesian HealthCare and St. Mary's Care Center both received the Governor's Forward Award of Excellence, WFA's highest level of recognition.

The American Society for Quality, Bay Area Medical Center, Physicians Plus Insurance Corporation, Sacred Heart Hospital, St. Clare Hospital & Health Services, St. Clare Meadows Care Center, and St. Mary's Hospital were recognized at the Mastery level of achievement.

Also receiving recognition in 2008 are Franciscan Skemp Healthcare and Red Cedar Medical Center, both part of Mayo Health System, Kohl's Department Stores–Credit Division, Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center, Saint Michael's Hospital, and Stoughton Hospital. We salute all of our 2008 applicants for their achievements and best practices.

Click here to read the official press release from Secretary Roberta Gassman of the Department of Workforce Development, on behalf of Governor Jim Doyle (.pdf).

Summary applications of the five recipients of the 2007 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award are available for free viewing or download from the Baldrige National Quality Award website.

2007 recipients include:

• PRO-TEC Coating Co. (small business), a provider of coated sheet steel primarily to the U.S. automotive industry for use in
  manufacturing cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
  
• Wisconsin's own Mercy Health System (health care), a fully integrated health care system with three hospitals and a network of 64 facilities consisting of 39 multi-specialty outpatient centers located in six counties throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
  
• Sharp HealthCare (health care), San Diego County’s largest integrated health care delivery system, serving greater than 27 percent of the county’s 3 million plus residents—some 785,000 people—each year.
  
• The City of Coral Springs, Florida (nonprofit), home to about 132,000 people and employer of about 770 full-time employees and 300 part-time and temporary employees, with an annual budget of $135 million.
  
• The U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) (nonprofit), one of the specialized research, development, and engineering centers within the U.S. Army Materiel Command, and which develops 90 percent of the Army’s armaments and ammunition including warheads, explosives, all sizes of firearms, battlefield sensors, and advanced weaponry based on high-power microwaves, high-energy lasers, and nanotechnology.

You can access application summaries by clicking here. Hard copies of these documents will also be mailed upon request by e-mailing npq@nist.gov or calling (301) 975-2036.