Wright Medical Center Silver Level IRPE Recipient

The Iowa Quality Center announced today that six organizations are being recognized in the 2010 Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence (IRPE) program—Iowa’s premier program for innovation and performance excellence.

The organizations receiving recognition this year are:
Gold Level
St Luke’s Hospital – Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Silver Level
Genesis Health System, Davenport, Iowa
Wright Medical Center, Clarion, Iowa

Bronze Level
ChildServe – Johnston, Iowa
Leadership Tier 3
Mary Greely Medical Center, Ames, Iowa
Commitment Level Tier 2
Palmer Chiropractic Clinics, Davenport, Iowa

The prestigious Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence program was established in 2000 to help businesses and organizations in the state become more sustainable. Each applicant organization receives over 1200 hours of analysis by a team of trained examiners. The IRPE program presents awards to the organizations that demonstrate successful process-based results. The process is aligned with the Baldrige National Quality Program.

There is no monetary award, but those who complete the process indicate it helps them identify strengths and opportunities for improvement within their companies, provides training for continuous improvement and leadership development, and assures customer focus, efficiency, and workforce engagement within their organizations. This process is a proven method for organizations to achieve their highest potential and become more competitive in the world marketplace. For this reason the process is used by 36 states to support their economic development efforts. In the past ten years, there have been 80 applications to the IRPE process, and 45 have been recognized for their Leadership achievement; 4 at the gold level, 19 at the silver level and 22 at the bronze level.

Companies and organizations that complete the Iowa process are also better positioned to prepare for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. All types and sizes of Iowa organizations are eligible to apply to the Iowa process, including business and manufacturing, health care, education, government, or non-profit.

The IRPE process, awards and examiner training are coordinated by the Iowa Quality Center, an independent nonprofit organization, based in Marion, Iowa.

For more information about the IRPE process contact Gary Nesteby at the Iowa Quality Center, (319) 398-7101 or visit the IQC website at www.iowaqc.org..