Mid-America Transplant was honored to formally receive the 2015 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award on Sunday evening at a ceremony in Baltimore. President and CEO Diane Brockmeier and President Emeritus Dean F. Kappel accepted the award from Bruce Andrews, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce, and Willie May, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
“As we’ve reflected on what the Baldrige award means to our organization and to donation and transplantation, it’s important to recognize the roles of those who support organ and tissue donation and make our work possible,” Kappel said. “Without our mission-driven staff, our professional partners and the donors and donor families who selflessly give the Gift of Life, Mid-America Transplant would have never had the opportunity to be recognized as a Baldrige Award recipient. They made this moment possible for us. More importantly, they make tomorrow possible for countless organ, eye and tissue recipients.”
Mid-America Transplant was one of four organizations to receive the award in 2015. MidwayUSA in Columbia, Mo.; Charter School of San Diego; and Charleston Area Medical Center also were recognized. The honorees were acknowledged for their outstanding commitment to sustainable excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership.
“We are honored to be recognized as a role model organization,” said Brockmeier. “In addition to the hard work and dedication of our entire team, receiving this very special acknowledgement would not be possible without the generosity by donors and their families to complete strangers.”
Mid-America Transplant’s Baldrige journey has spanned more than 10 years.
When the organization began utilizing the Baldrige criteria in 2003, Mid-America Transplant helped save the lives of 300 people annually. In 2015, more than 600 people received lifesaving organs through Mid-America Transplant.
“Over the course of 12 years, we began our journey with applications to our state program followed by eight Baldrige applications, five site visits, and two Missouri Quality Awards,” Kappel told 700 people in attendance. “Now, we are honored to stand before you as a 2015 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner.”
“Our staff works every day at the intersection of death and new life,” Kappel continued. “They are there to support a grieving family, facilitate the medical management of potential donors, and, ultimately, partner with recovery surgeons for the removal and subsequent transplant of organs and tissues. If there ever was a work that required the systematic approach the Baldrige criteria provides, this is it.”
To date, more than 1,600 U.S. organizations have applied for the Baldrige Award, and there are more than 30 independent Baldrige-based state and regional award programs covering nearly all 50 states. Internationally, the program has served as a model for nearly 100 excellence programs. In addition, many organizations use the Baldrige framework for its improvement and innovation strategies without applying for any of these awards.
The Baldrige Program raises awareness about the importance of performance excellence in driving the U.S. and global economy; provides organizational assessments, training, tools and criteria; educates leaders in businesses, schools, health care organizations, and government and nonprofit organizations; shares the best practices of national role models; and recognizes those role models with the Baldrige Award.
The Baldrige Award was established by Congress in 1987 and is not given for specific products or services. Since the first group was recognized in 1988, 109 awards have been presented to 102 organizations (including seven repeat recipients).
For more information, visit the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program website.