Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which has implemented an aggressive Six Sigma program, recently received one of the nation’s top awards for quality health care. The hospital, located in Chicago, received the 2005 National Quality Health Care Award from the National Committee for Quality Health Care. The award selection committee cited the hospital’s successful integration of a process improvement program using Six Sigma, and DMAIC as major sources of the hospital’s successful patient care.

More than 500 employees have served on Six Sigma project teams that have implemented more than 40 improvement projects ranging from clinical programs, transportation services and bed management, to financial reporting.

Northwestern Memorial will continue to develop and implement a plan to provide electronic health records to all inpatients, a project that has streamlined patient care considerably. Last year, it began implementing computerized provider entry to help ensure effective treatment based on clinical evidence in an effort to improve patient outcomes and to improve patient information availability to care providers. By this spring, the hospital expects that at least 75 percent of medication will be ordered online, a cost-savings initiative.

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