The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has named Debra Sheets, Director of Organizational Effectiveness at Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) in Salisbury, Maryland, to the Board of Examiners for the 2017 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Baldrige Award is the nation’s highest honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence.
Appointed by the NIST Director, examiners are responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the Baldrige Award, as well as other assessment-related tasks. The examiner board is composed of more than 340 leading experts competitively selected from industry, professional, trade, education, healthcare and nonprofit (including government) organizations from across the United States.
Sheets has been with PRMC for nearly nine years and has held a variety of leadership roles including Director of Special Projects and Director of Organizational Development. In her current role, she provides oversight of PRMC’s Performance Improvement initiatives, Leadership Development, Service Excellence, Risk Management, Accreditation, and Infection Prevention. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Penn State University, a Master’s Degree in Nursing Administration (MN) from UCLA and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from University of Alabama. Sheets is also certified by the American Society of Quality as a Six Sigma Black Belt and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality.
Those selected, including Sheets, meet the highest standards of qualification and peer recognition, demonstrating competencies related to customer focus, communication, ethics, action orientation, team building and analytical skills. All members of the board must take part in a nationally ranked leadership development course based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and the scoring/evaluation processes for the Baldrige Award.
Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the Baldrige Award was established by Congress in 1987. Awards may be given annually to organizations in each of six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education, healthcare and nonprofit. The Award promotes innovation and excellence in organizational performance, recognizes the achievements and results of U.S. organizations, and publicizes successful performance strategies. Since the first group was recognized in 1988, 114 awards have been presented to 106 organizations (including seven repeat recipients).
