21st Century innovators. Interview by Joe Flower

Last spring, The Healthcare Forum and 3M together announced the 21st Century Innovator Awards. They hoped to spotlight examples of the most forward-thinking organizations in American healthcare--organizations that could demonstrate readiness for the next century through the process of rebuilding their systems and structures. THF and 3M were looking for models for success with: (1) an organizational vision for the future, (2) an integrated planning process which reflected that vision, and (3) a measurable future benefit to the communities they served. The call elicited responses from more than 40 organizations across the country. THF and 3M were overwhelmed by both their range and quality. Choosing was difficult. But last September two winners were unveiled at the THF-3M Visionary Leadership conference in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Memorial Hospital and Health System of South Bend, Indiana, took the large, urban, regional, and national award for its progress in the long, tough process of revisioning itself according to a strategic concept CEO Phil Newbold calls "Quality Through People." The small, rural, and suburban prize went to Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott, Arizona, where CEO Pat Linton is attempting to shape a "Total Healing Environment." We asked Joe Flower to visit both sites and send back an eyewitness report on what makes these two progressive organizations models for healthcare in the '90s and beyond.