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Photo by St. David's HealthCareSt. David's HealthCare President and CEO David Huffstutler said winning the 2014 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was affirmation of the health care system's hard-working staff and physicians. The award is the highest presidential recognition for performance and quality.
St. David's HealthCare is the first health care system in Texas to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, St. David's announced Nov. 12.
St. David's, which was recognized for the quality of its entire system of hospitals and facilities, is one of four recipients nationwide to receive the 2014 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest presidential honor for recognition of performance and quality. Hill Country Memorial, a standalone hospital in Fredericksburg, also garnered the award.
"We're delighted to be recognized with this award," St. David's president and CEO David Huffstutler said. "Really I think it is as much as anything else an affirmation of the work that has been going on and the success we've been able to achieve in this organization over the last nine or so years."
Huffstutler said St. David's has applied for the award for the past five years, and the organization had to meet intensive requirements to garner it. The 2014 award recipients were selected from 22 applicants, who were evaluated by an independent board of examiners. To obtain the award, applicants had to meet seven areas of criteria, including leadership; strategic planning; customer focus and analysis; and knowledge management. The examiners also conducted site visits at all of St. David's' facilities and interviewed hundreds of employees, Huffstutler said.
