Healthcare Quality News

Eight of the 15 organizations selected to receive site visits in the final round of judging for the 2009 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award are in health care.

According to a news release, the U.S. Commerce Department expects to name the award recipients in late November. More than half of the 70 applicants were health care organizations. Established by Congress in 1987, the annual award recognizes performance excellence in health care, manufacturing, service, small business, education and nonprofit organizations.

(SOURCES: AHA News Now, http://ahanews.com, October 29, 2009; National Institute for Standards and Technology, http://nist.gov, accessed November 6, 2009)