Agnesian HealthCare Agnesian HealthCare EnterprisesConsultants LaboratoryFond du Lac Regional ClinicFond du Lac Regional Surgery Center St. Agnes HospitalSt. Francis HomeWaupun Memorial Hospital

Wisconsin Forward Award names Agnesian HealthCare as "excellence" recipient

Agnesian HealthCare's commitment to performance excellence has been recognized by Gov. Jim Doyle through the 2008 Wisconsin Forward Award Governor's Award of Excellence.

The award was presented to Bob Fale, Agnesian HealthCare president and chief executive officer, by Roberta Gassman, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development secretary, and Joseph Kinsella, Wisconsin Forward Board of Directors chairperson, at a ceremony July 8 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison.

The Governor's Award of Excellence is the highest achievement possible through application for the Wisconsin Forward Award. This achievement level is representative of organizations with highly-integrated performance management systems, including systems to improve in all areas on a regular basis.




Bob Fale (right), Agnesian HealthCare president and chief executive officer, receives the 2008 Wisconsin Forward Award Governor's Award of Excellence, the highest achievement possible through application for the Wisconsin Forward Award, from Roberta Gassman (center), Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development secretary, and Joseph Kinsella (left), Wisconsin Forward Board of Directors chairperson. James Gill photo




Organizations receiving the Governor's Award have demonstrated outstanding approaches throughout their system of quality of care, service to patients and families, attention to employee and leader development, and well-organized process improvement. Governor's Award recipients, according to Wisconsin Forward Award criteria, are "industry leaders and role models to others."

"Agnesian HealthCare touches well over 500,000 people each year," Fale says. "Our service and clinical results have improved consistently over the long-term, and our relationship with our partners has become integrated with a common vision. Even with these results, nothing speaks more deeply to us than the child who says thanks for fixing daddy's heart, or the employee who says I love every day because I get to serve people; not just do a job."

Agnesian HealthCare's commitment to performance excellence began eight years ago when the integrated health delivery system adopted the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria as its framework for excellence.

Since then, Agnesian HealthCare has achieved dramatic improvements in all aspects of its ministries, including ensuring that care is focused on providing the best possible patient experience. During this time period, Agnesian HealthCare has been honored five consecutive years for its performance by the Wisconsin Forward Award, most recently at the Mastery levels.

"An important part of our efforts has been to focus on our patients' needs and their overall experiences with us," says Karen Kiel-Rosser, Agnesian HealthCare vice president of Managed Care/Quality. "For example, our patients told us they want timely emergency care. As a result, a special team has greatly improved the flow of patients through the Emergency Department, setting a new standard of 20 minutes between the time a person arrives and the time they are seen by a physician."

The Dale Michels Center for Heart Care continues to demonstrate quality outcomes that compare favorably with providers throughout the region. The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have established a 90-minute door-to-balloon time as the quality of care benchmark for heart attacks.

Door-to-balloon time refers to the interval from patient arrival to inflation of the balloon catheter within the patient's blocked artery. Agnesian HealthCare currently averages 59 minutes.

The Wisconsin Forward Award is given at four levels – Excellence, Mastery, Proficiency and Commitment – and is the culmination of a voluntary, rigorous assessment process that uses the Criteria for Performance Excellence of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

"Our journey has never been about winning an award," says Fale. "Suffice it to say that I and over 3,000 Agnesian HealthCare employees, physicians and volunteers share the belief that . . . 'every day, every patient, every customer, every employee and every partner should have the opportunity to experience simply the best service.'"

Wisconsin Forward Award recipients are evaluated by an independent Board of Examiners in the areas of leadership, strategic planning, human resources, customer and market focus, information, knowledge and process management, and results. Additionally, some applicants receive an on-site visit.

"This extensive site visit gave examiners the opportunity to clarify and verify information in our application, and to speak directly with our employees and providers throughout our seven ministries," says Kiel-Rosser.

Wisconsin Forward Award examiners commended Agnesian HealthCare on four "best practice" areas, including:

  • A strong focus on ethical behavior that is reflected in its commitment to its core values and code of ethics;
  • A patient-centered focus using a variety of approaches including multiple effective systematic listening methods for obtaining and using the voice of its primary care customers, customer groups and segments;
  • An organizational performance measurement system that ensures that selection of key performance indicators align desired outcomes to strategy, customer requirements and market trends. This system fosters high performance across seven ministries and provides the organization with data and information to assess organizational success and measure progress towards its strategic areas of focus; and,
  • The Partners in Performance System, which fosters high performance and a motivated workforce and provides for individual goal setting that is aligned with the strategic areas of focus and eight leadership accountabilities.

The Governor's Award reflects performance excellence efforts by all Agnesian HealthCare ministries, including Consultants Laboratory, Fond du Lac Regional Clinic, Fond du Lac Surgery Center , St. Agnes Hospital , St. Francis Home , Waupun Memorial Hospital and Agnesian HealthCare Enterprises.

"We intentionally decided to implement this framework among our seven different ministries, which is not always a common practice in the application process," Kiel-Rosser says. "The value in applying as a system is that it continues to bring all our ministries together as Agnesian HealthCare, providing all of us with the same strategic focus and plan to guide us as we work to enhance our patients' experiences."

Wisconsin Forward Award, Inc. was created in 1997 by the Governor's Council on Workforce Investment to advance the competitive position and world-class status of Wisconsin organizations in the international marketplace, and to enhance learning, continuous improvement and enterprise performance.

The award promotes excellence in organizational management, recognizes the achievements and results of Wisconsin organizations implementing successful performance excellence management strategies.

All types and sizes of Wisconsin organizations are eligible to apply, including manufacturers, service companies, small businesses, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, and non-profit organizations, including trade and professional associations, government entities and charities.
Wisconsin Forward Award. Excellence at Work.