Activities by Profession

Education

• August 3, 2004
  ASQ Invited to Department of Education Regional Summits
  Suzanne Keely, ASQ Market Manager—Education, was a guest presenter at several regional high school summits conducted by the U.S. Department of Education.

• May 7, 2004
  Lawmakers Seek Out ASQ on Education Legislation
  Representatives from the American Society for Quality were in Washington D.C. last week to meet with staff of the House Education and Workforce Committee, discussing ways in which quality methods could address cost issues in higher education.

Healthcare

• June 10, 2008
  ASQ Supports New Options for Accrediting Hospitals to Participate in Medicare
  ASQ responded to a request by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for comments on an application to use an ISO 9001-based platform as the basis for accrediting hospitals for participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

• May 19, 2008
  Federal Healthcare Agency Welcomes ASQ Help in Defusing Controversy
  The federal Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) accepted an ASQ request and met with ASQ officials on April 21 to discuss ways to defuse controversy arising out of an earlier OHRP regulatory ruling.

• March 21, 2008
  ASQ Moves Forward to Resolve Federal Healthcare Controversy
  ASQ has sent a letter to Michael Leavitt, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, seeking to defuse lingering controversy and confusion over a ruling by the department’s Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP).

• March 12, 2008
  ASQ Letter to DHHS Secretary Leavitt on Healthcare Checklists Issue (PDF, 50 KB)

• February 12, 2008
  ASQ Statement on Healthcare Checklists Issue
  The American Society for Quality takes exception to a recent ruling by the Office for Human Research Protections that is having a potentially chilling effect on healthcare quality improvement and patient safety initiatives being carried out at healthcare institutions across the country.

• February, 2008
  Federal Ruling a Potential Threat to Healthcare Quality Improvement Initiatives: ASQ Responds
  Who would have thought that a simple little checklist of five basic hospital intensive care infection-control practices could ignite howls of protest within the healthcare community and threaten to disrupt quality initiatives in healthcare institutions across the country?

• June 9, 2006
  Innovation and Healthcare Top ASQ’s Washington Agenda in June In meetings this month with lawmakers, ASQ is offering to supply quality expertise in support of President Bush’s American Competitiveness Initiative and two bills now before Congress.

• April 26, 2006
  ASQ Healthcare Panel Brings Healthcare Quality Experts to Capitol Hill
  The crisis, complexity, competing interests and compassion that drive healthcare delivery in the United States came through in impassioned comments, questions and suggested solutions offered during ASQ’s Healthcare Forum on Capitol Hill today.

• February 16, 2006
  ASQ to Host Healthcare Discussion for Congress
  ASQ will host an expert panel discussion on quality and healthcare for members of Congress in April.

• July 2003
  ASQ Provides Commentary on Healthcare Legislation (PDF, 122 KB)
  ASQ Chairman Liz Keim has sent a letter reaffirming ASQ’s support for major provisions of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act. Her letter, also containing comments on a revised Senate draft of the legislation, was sent to key members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. It was written in response to the Committee’s request for commentary.

Manufacturing

• September 2003
  ASQ Comment on Columbia Shuttle Accident Report
  In an Aug. 26, 2003, report, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, an independent body constituted by NASA, exonerated quality assurance as being responsible for the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The board cited NASA's culture as the main contributor to the accident, but it also uncovered major deficiencies in Kennedy Space Center's quality assurance program-deficiencies that the board believes may lead to a future accident.

Service

• March, 2007
  ASQ Team Offers Comments on Financial Auditing Standards and Rules to Government Agencies
  A team from ASQ’s Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Community responded to calls from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for comments on proposed rules and accounting standards. 

• December 14, 2005
  Mairani Asks Members to Thank Legislators for Supporting Baldrige Nonprofit Category
  ASQ President Jerry Mairani is calling on ASQ members to thank the legislators.

• December 7, 2005
  President Signs Baldrige Nonprofit Funding, Pilot Program Slated for 2006
  It’s official: President Bush has approved funding for a nonprofit category of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

• September, 2005
  ASQ Meets with House Appropriations Committee Chairman
  Congressman Lewis Key to Securing Funding for Baldrige Nonprofit Category.

• July, 2005
  ASQ Congressional Meetings – Baldrige Not-For-Profit Category Funding
  Neither July’s heat nor Congress’ focus on a certain Supreme Court appointee deterred ASQ’s efforts to get the U.S. House of Representatives to fund the nonprofit category of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

• May 26, 2005
  Funding for Baldrige Nonprofit Category Gains Supporters
  Three members of Congress are publicly supporting efforts to fund the nonprofit category for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

• April 14, 2005
  ASQ Leads Baldrige Supporters to Congressional Meetings
  The meetings let members of Congress and their staffs hear firsthand about strong support among their constituents for the Baldrige Award, particularly the new nonprofit category, which has been signed into law but not yet funded.

• October 29, 2004
  Election Process Quality—Four Years Later
  ASQ releases statement on election process quality issues.

• October 18, 2004
  ASQ President Thanks Baldrige Legislators
  ASQ President Danny Duhan was in Washington on October 8 to thank key legislators for their work in passing legislation to establish a not-for-profit category of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

• September 24, 2004
  Baldrige Not-for-Profit Bill Passes Senate
  Last night the United States Senate passed by unanimous consent H.R. 3389, the bill that establishes a not-for-profit category for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

• August 30, 2004
  New Watchdog Body Finds Quality Control Problems at Accounting Firms
  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the financial auditing industry regulatory body established in 2002 by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, released its first report Thursday on initial inspections at the four largest public accounting firms in the United States, stating that the board "identified concerns about significant aspects of each firm's quality controls systems."

• July 23, 2004
  ASQ Goes to Capitol Hill to Break Senate Logjam on Baldrige Expansion
  After unanimously clearing the United States House of Representatives in March, legislation to add a not-for-profit category to the Baldrige Award has become bogged down in the Senate.

• May 12, 2004
  ASQ Submits Statement on NIST Budget to House Science Committee
  ASQ has submitted a statement for the record for a hearing held by the Committee on Science of the U.S. House of Representatives. The hearing dealt with budget requests for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including additional funding for a new Baldrige Award not-for-profit category.

• February 2004
  Baldrige Not-for-Profit Legislation Clears House Committee
  Legislation to establish a not-for-profit category for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award cleared the House Science Committee today.  The measure was received with bipartisan enthusiasm.  Principal sponsors are Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC), Rep. Melissa Hart (R-PA), and Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS).

• December 2003
  Baldrige Nonprofit Expansion Succumbs to Politics at End of Congressional Session
  Broad support for the measure indicates early passage likely in the next session. Read a legislative update from ASQ’s Washington consultants.

• November 2003
  New Bill Introduced to Expand Baldrige to Nonprofits
  On October 29, Representatives Brad Miller (D-NC) and Melissa Hart (R-PA) introduced H.R. 3389 in the U.S. House of Representatives, which would establish the not-for-profit category for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

• July 2003
  Effort to Expand Baldrige Award Takes Shape
  Supporters of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award have recently stepped up efforts to achieve two longstanding goals: Expanding the award to include a not-for-profit category and eliminating the present cap on the number of awards that may be awarded in each category.

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