For Immediate Release

2007 Quality Institute for Healthcare Examines Best Ways to Add Innovation, Value

Milwaukee, Wis., January 23, 2007 –- Finding innovative ways to deliver the best quality and highest value healthcare is the theme of the 2007 Quality Institute for Healthcare (QIHC) hosted by the American Society for Quality (ASQ), the leading quality improvement organization in the United States. This year’s conference will take place April 30 - May 2, 2007, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.  The Institute will be held concurrently with the ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement.

The conference welcomes all healthcare leaders and quality practitioners – from administrators and managers to clinical directors – who are interested in developing the quality improvement skills and knowledge needed to successfully manage a complex healthcare environment.  The three-day event features hands-on workshops, results-driven case presentations and high-profile keynote speakers including: 

• John Heer, President and Chief Executive Officer of 2006 Baldrige-winning North Mississippi Health Services
• Ryan Armbruster, Director of Operations and Design, Mayo Clinic

Healthcare quality leaders and experts from around the country will direct daily hands-on workshops on the latest healthcare quality improvement methods.  Some of the topics include:

• High Reliability Organizations: Putting Safety Culture to Work in Healthcare – presented by Craig Clapper, Chief Operating Officer of Healthcare Performance Improvement
• From Strategy to Individual Behavior – presented by Kate Goonan, M.D., Executive Director of the Center for Performance Excellence, Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital/Partner
• Documenting Reality: Using Standard Work Forms on Lean Implementation – presented by Tom Zidel, President of Lean Hospitals
• Positive Quality: The Science and Practice of Appreciative Inquiry – presented by Bernard Mohr, Partner, Dynamic Health Systems, LLC  

Participants attending this year’s Institute will also have access to select sessions and other activities of the ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement. To learn more and to register for the Quality Institute for Healthcare, please visit http://qihc.asq.org.

The American Society for Quality www.asq.org is the world's leading authority on quality. With more than 90,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement, and knowledge exchange to improve business results, and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide.  As champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools, and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners, and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good Great®.  ASQ has been the sole administrator of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 1991.  Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., the 60-year-old organization is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.

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