Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital in Texas and Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation Center-Mountain Valley in Idaho each won a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest presidential honor for excellence among businesses.
The two organizations were recognized for their patient outcomes, workplace environment and employee retention rates.
The annual awards are managed by the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology and they honor innovation, stellar management and employee and customer satisfaction.
Memorial Hermann and Kindred-Mountain Valley were among 34 applicants vetted by an independent board.
Memorial Hermann Sugar Land, a 149-bed hospital, is part of the Memorial Hermann Health System, a not-for-profit system based in Houston. The NIST said Memorial Hermann Sugar Land “sets the pace for the hospital of tomorrow.”
Memorial Hermann Sugar Land performs in the top 10% for various quality metrics including emergency arrival and discharge time. The facility also hasn't reported an event related to pressure ulcers, ventilator-associated pneumonia, transfusion reactions and other normally low mortality conditions since 2011.
Employee retention rates at the facility this year were at 100% for employed physicians and 90% for other employees.
Memorial Hermann Sugar Land has also reported stronger operating earnings than the national average. The facility reports annual revenue of $135 million.
Kindred-Mountain Valley received a Baldrige award for its CMS quality ratings and its patient-satisfaction scores. It is part of Kindred Healthcare, a for-profit provider based in Louisville, Ky., which recently reported it is exiting the nursing business.
For seven consecutive years, the 68-bed skilled nursing center has received a five-star quality rating from the CMS. Less than 1% of 15,600 skilled-nursing facilities across the country have achieved that feat.
At the same time, 100% of residents and family members surveyed since 2013 have said they are either very or extremely satisfied by the care received at Mountain Valley. The national average is about 20% lower for residents and 10% lower for families.
Kindred-Mountain Valley also boasts a 90% employee retention rate, which is more than 20% higher than the national average in the industry. Almost 100% of employees report feeling encouraged to find ways to improve the center.
The 2016 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality awards were also given to vehicle sales and service business Don Chalmers Ford in Rio Rancho, N.M., and textile distributor Momentum Groupbased in Irvine, Calif.
Previous recent winners in the healthcare sector include Charleston (W.Va.) Area Medical Center Health System in 2015 and St. David's HealthCare in Texas in 2014.
