American Business Women's Association Meets Jan. 16; Priscilla Nuwash of Poudre Valley Health System to discuss the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Management Model

The Paramount Chapter of the American Business Women's Association will hold its regular monthly meeting on Monday, January 16, 2006 at The Moot House, 2626 S. College, just south of Drake Road. Networking begins at 5:45 p.m., program presentation is from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m., and dinner is served at 6:45 p.m., followed by a chapter business meeting. There is no charge to attend the meeting, only the cost of the meal, and guests are welcome.

(PRWEB) December 15, 2005 -- The Paramount Chapter of the American Business Women's Association will hold its regular monthly meeting on Monday, January 16, 2006 at The Moot House, 2626 S. College, just south of Drake Road. Networking begins at 5:45 p.m., program presentation is from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m., and dinner is served at 6:45 p.m., followed by a chapter business meeting. There is no charge to attend the meeting, only the cost of the meal, and guests are welcome.

The program will feature Poudre Valley Health System's Director of Process Improvement, Priscilla Nuwash, who will discuss the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Management Model, including an overview of the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Program and the benefits of participating in the program. Using this program helps PVHS to meet organizational goals and improve communication among staff and leadership teams. Poudre Valley Hospital has applied for and is currently going through the evaluation process in an effort to earn the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. For more details on the Baldrige National Quality Program, visit http://www.quality.nist.gov/index.html.

The guest speaker presentation will link to the chapter's series on Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The topic for this meeting will be Habit 4, "Think Win-Win – The habit of Interpersonal Leadership," and how to obtain better results by cooperating interdependently rather than by competing independently.

Guests are welcome, particularly those who are seeking a career mentor, a way to develop leadership skills, or who would like to know more about community organizations for women. Information packets will be provided to each visitor with information on ABWA benefits, dues, etc.

About Priscilla Nuwash

Priscilla Nuwash is the director of process improvement for Poudre Valley Health System and has over thirty years experience as a business manager. She has been employed by PVHS for last 14 years in the functional areas of Medical Nutrition Therapy, Pharmacy, Hospitality Services and Quality Improvement. She is a National Board Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and is responsible for implementing the Baldrige quality management model at PVHS. Her degrees include Culinary Arts, Dietetics, Health Care Management and a Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resource Development.

About the American Business Women's Association

The ABWA's mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and to provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support and national recognition. The local Fort Collins Paramount Chapter typically meets on the second Monday of each month at The Moot House. To RSVP to attend the meeting, please call (970) 669-0967.

For more information, visit the Paramount Chapter Web site, www.paramountabwa.com; the Colorado ABWA Council site, www.abwacolocouncil.org; or the national site, www.abwa.org.

ABWA: Touching the lives of women…one woman at a time.

About the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

Who was Malcolm Baldrige?

Malcolm Baldrige was Secretary of Commerce from 1981 until his death in a rodeo accident in July 1987. Baldrige was a proponent of quality management as a key to this country’s prosperity and long-term strength. He took a personal interest in the quality improvement act that was eventually named after him and helped draft one of the early versions. In recognition of his contributions, Congress named the award in his honor.

What is the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award?

The Baldrige Award is given by the President of the United States to businesses—manufacturing and service, small and large—and to education and health care organizations that apply and are judged to be outstanding in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and results.

Congress established the award program in 1987 to recognize U.S. organizations for their achievements in quality and performance and to raise awareness about the importance of quality and performance excellence as a competitive edge. The award is not given for specific products or services. Three awards may be given annually in each of these categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education, and health care. In October 2004, President Bush signed into law legislation that authorizes NIST to expand the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program to include non-profit and government organizations. The program may begin to solicit applications from non-profit organizations in 2006 for a pilot program, with awards commencing in 2007.

While the Baldrige Award and the Baldrige recipients are the very visible centerpiece of the U.S. quality movement, a broader national quality program has evolved around the award and its criteria. A report, Building on Baldrige: American Quality for the 21st Century, by the private Council on Competitiveness, said, “More than any other program, the Baldrige Quality Award is responsible for making quality a national priority and disseminating best practices across the United States.”

The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) manages the Baldrige National Quality Program in close cooperation with the private sector.

###