Exceptional health care requires leadership at all levels

In 1990, SSM Health Care, St. Louis, implemented a management approach called "continuous quality improvement" (CQI) to help tap the potential of its employees. Five years later, SSM combined the approach with the "Breakthrough Series," a quality-improvement model developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and rapid results followed. With quality improvements under way, SSM facilities began to apply for state quality awards modeled on the Baldrige National Quality Award program. The feedback from Baldrige helped SSM focus its ongoing quality efforts. Also, it provided the necessary framework for quality improvements and for establishing a culture in which leadership is encouraged at all levels. In 2002, SSM became the first health care system to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.