Baldrige Quality Award Goes to Advocate Good Samaritan

Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, IL, has won the U.S. Commerce Department's prestigious 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement, and leadership.

And, for the first time, Studer Group, a healthcare consulting firm in Gulf Breeze, FL, was one of three small businesses selected for the 2010 honor, which also was awarded to seven organizations for only the second time in its 23-year history.

The 2010 Baldrige Award recipients are:

• Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, Downers Grove, IL (healthcare)
• Studer Group, Gulf Breeze, FL (small business)
• Freese and Nichols Inc., Fort Worth, TX (small business)
• K&N Management, Austin, TX (small business)
• MEDRAD, Warrendale, PA. (manufacturing)
• Nestle Purina PetCare Co., St. Louis, MO (manufacturing)
• Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD (education)

"Today we honor the country's most innovative organizations and the people who make them great," said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. "This year's recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award embody the ingenuity and creativity that characterizes the American spirit and drives America forward. Innovation is at the heart of U.S. job creation, competitiveness and global strength, and the accomplishments of these outstanding leaders are an inspiration to us all."