Using the strategic planning model as a guide, discuss how Bronson currently carries out each step in the model.

Excellence has always been a focus of Bronson Methodist Hospital, a not-for-profit tertiary hospital based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. But it was not until 1999 that the organization adopted the Baldrige criteria and put into place a systematic approach to organizational excellence. In the mid-1990s, as Bronson designed and prepared to move into a new, all-private-room facility, Bronson’s leadership seized the opportunity to raise the bar on the quality of their internal processes so they could match the quality of the hospital’s new state-of-the-art patient-care environment. The building project became a catalyst for moving the organization’s culture from “good” to “great.”
When the Baldrige criteria for health care became available in 1999, Bronson was poised and ready to begin using the model—a systems perspective for understanding performance management provided by the Baldrige National Quality Program (www.quality.nist.gov). We were attracted to this model because the Baldrige criteria are not prescriptive; they do not tell an organization what to do. Instead, the criteria challenge an organization to review and understand how it is doing things. This was precisely the formula for self-evaluation that Bronson was looking for to become a “great”
hospital and sustain long-term success. Since implementing the Baldrige criteria, Bronson has achieved strong performance improvement and results in every key area measured, including low Medicare patient mortality; high overall patient, employee, and physician satisfaction; and national recognition for workplace excellence. We have seen significant improvement in use of prophylaxis, registered nurse turnover rate, and the integration and use of technology; Bronson also has pioneered efforts to reduce waste and pollution.