2007

Award Recipient

Mercy Health System

In 1989, Mercy Hospital was a single stand-alone 

community hospital primarily serving Janesville, Wisconsin. 

Today, Mercy Health System (MHS) is a fully integrated 

health care system with three hospitals and a network of 64 

facilities consisting of 39 multi-specialty outpatient centers 

located in six counties throughout southern Wisconsin 

and northern Illinois. Mercy has a unique W2 Physician 

Partnership Model with 285 primary and speciality 

physicians. In addition, MHS offers post-acute and retail 

services, and an insurance company which operates the second 

largest health maintenance organization in its market area.

With an unwavering commitment to quality and costeffective health care, MHS provides a complete spectrum 

of integrated health care services, including basic preventive 

medicine and health education, complex neurosurgery and 

open heart surgery, and post-acute care such as rehabilitation, 

home health, and hospice care to more than 1 million patients 

annually. Mercy’s nearly 4,000 employees, called “partners,” 

include 285 W2 physician partners who make up 80 percent 

of its medical staff. For the past six years, MHS has been 

ranked in the top 100 integrated health care networks, 

reaching number 11 on the list in 2008.

Healing in the Broadest Sense

To further its mission of providing “exceptional 

health care services, resulting in healing in the broadest 

sense,” MHS has created a culture of high quality care, 

customer focus, partner cooperation, innovation, and cost 

consciousness. The entire organization is aligned according 

to its Culture of Excellence Four Pillars—quality, service, 

partnering, and cost—and its values—healing in its broadest 

sense, patients come first, treat each other like family, and 

strive for excellence. 

Quality—Excellence in patient care. Every MHS partner 

is committed to exceeding patient expectations by making 

quality care a top priority. Best-practice benchmarks are used 

to measure clinical care and ensure continuous improvement 

and patient safety. At MHS, an engaged, empowered 

workforce and advanced medical and information technology 

are key to high quality patient care. 

	 •	Current overall mortality rates for MHS match the

best practice benchmark based on data from the CareScience 

adjusted rate for the top 15 percent of hospitals in the United 

States. (CareScience is a provider of care management, 

clinical analysis, and clinical quality improvement solutions.)

	 •	Results for community acquired pneumonia mortality

have decreased steadily since 2003, with current results at 1.2 

percent—significantly below the benchmark of 4.0 percent.

National Institute of Standards and Technology • U.S. Department of Commerce

Baldrige National Quality Program

What is the Malcolm Baldrige 

National Quality Award?

Named after the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the Malcolm 

Baldrige National Quality Award was established by 

Congress in 1987 to promote excellence in organizational 

performance, recognize the achievements and results of 

U.S. organizations, and publicize successful performance 

strategies. For more information, see http://baldrige.nist.gov.

Baldrige 20th Anniversary Highlight:

The Eligibility Categories 

Originally, three types of organizations were eligible 

for the Baldrige Award: manufacturers, service companies, 

and small businesses. This was expanded in 1999 to include 

education and health care organizations, and again in 2007 

to include nonprofit organizations (including charities, trade 

and professional associations, and government agencies). 

Up to 18 awards may be given in a single year (maximum 

of three in each category). The most awards in a single year 

to date were seven in 2003 (one manufacturing, two service, 

one small business, one education, and two health care). 

Four organizations have received two Baldrige Awards: 

the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. in 1992 and 1999 (service), 

Solectron Corp. in 1991 and 1997 (manufacturing), 

Sunny Fresh Foods Inc. in 1999 (small business) and 2005 

(manufacturing), and Texas Nameplate Co. Inc. in 1998 

and 2004 (small business).

The award is not given for specific products or services.
	 •	Medication safety procedures and technology allows

for 24/7 pharmacist review of medication orders prior to 

administration at all hospital locations.

	 •	A system-wide, secure electronic network gives

authorized partners at all sites access to patient health 

information, including visit history, diagnostic and 

medication orders, test results, and images.

Service—Exceptional patient and customer service. 

MHS focuses on patient and customer satisfaction, timely 

resolution of problems, and expanding and improving 

services. Continuous benchmarking, tracking of quality 

indicators, and surveying patients and customers help MHS 

ensure excellence in patient care.

	 •	In 2006, overall satisfaction with MHS multi-specialty

outpatient centers was 96 percent; overall satisfaction with 

MHS hospitals was 95.2 percent.

	 •	In 2006, about 84 percent of hospital customers

and about 90 percent of multi-specialty outpatient center 

customers would recommend MHS to others, a key indicator 

of customer loyalty and a reflection of overall satisfaction. 

	 •	MHS’s “Take the L.E.A.D” program—Listen to 

the customer; Empathize with the customer; Accept the 

customer’s perspective, Apologize, Acknowledge concern 

and take Action to recover; Direct to the person able to 

recover the situation—is used to turn negative experiences 

into positive ones. Effectiveness in resolving patient and 

customer concerns has risen from about 90 percent in 2002 

to 94 percent in 2007.

•	 The Mercy Health Mall is a one-stop superstore offering

a number of services, including acupuncture, massage therapy, 

a vision center, a pharmacy, durable medical equipment and 

supplies, an urgent care clinic, a cardiac rehabilitation and 

fitness center, outpatient diabetic treatment, an entire array of 

health products, and more. 

Partnering—Best place to work. A basic belief at MHS 

is that engaged, empowered, and valued partners, including 

285 W2 physician partners, are vital to providing exceptional 

health care services. At the time they are hired, partners are 

asked to commit to achieving the MHS mission, participate 

in performance improvement efforts, and create a personal 

and professional growth and development plan. MHS’s 

leaders live by a “servant leadership” philosophy: When 

leaders provide excellent service to partners, partners 

provide excellent service to patients.

	 •	For the last two years, MHS has been ranked number

one and number two in the nation on the American 

Association of Retired Persons (AARP) “Best Employers for 

Workers Over Age 50” list. This year, MHS was the only 

organization to receive AARP’s “Bernard Nash Award” in 

the flexible work options category for its innovative ageneutral policies. MHS also was named one of the “100 Best 

Companies to Work” by Working Mother magazine. 

	 •	To determine workforce engagement, MHS uses

surveys as well as informal methods such as CEO partner 

forums and lunch with leaders. MHS ranks in the 96th 

percentile for “feeling valued” and in the 95th percentile 

for overall satisfaction. Physician satisfaction ranks above 

the American Medical Group Association 95th percentile.

	 •	Staff turnover at MHS has declined from 13.5 percent

in 2002 to 7.5 percent in 2007.

	 •	Almost 100 percent of participants are satisfied with

Mercy’s Leadership Development Academy, an internal 

management development program.

Cost—Long-term financial success. MHS encourages 

and entices partners to identify innovative ideas for growing 

revenue, decreasing expenses and waste as well as increasing 

productivity and effectiveness. 

	 •	Since 1989, MHS’s revenue has increased from about

$33 million to $847 million, demonstrating significant 

growth.

	 •	Rewards to partners for achieving system-wide financial

and customer satisfaction goals has increased from $676,704 

in 2002 to $1.1 million in 2006.

	 •	MHS is the leader in market share for inpatient services

and outpatient surgery in its Wisconsin service area.

	 •	MHS’s physician clinic office visit captures 87 percent

of the market in its Wisconsin service area.

	 •	Since 1989, many health care systems have seen

declining bond ratings while MHS’s Moody bond rating 

remained stable at A2 from 1996 to 2007, and increased to 

positive long-term outlook in 2007. This is a key measure of 

its commitment to financial stability and long-term viability.

Care for the Community

Good citizenship at MHS is not a slogan, it is part 

and parcel of the organization’s core mission (to “provide 

exceptional health care services resulting in healing in the 

broadest sense”) and its vision statement (to “promote 

educational programs and health care initiatives to improve 

community quality of life”). For example, MHS founded the 

House of Mercy Homeless Center in Janesville, WI, after 

Javon Bea, president and chief executive officer of MHS, 

realized that a growing number of emergency room patients 

were listing the family car as their primary address. The only 

shelter of its kind operated by a health system, the House 

of Mercy can shelter up to 25 women and children for 30 

days at a time. Since its inception in 1996, the Center has 

provided shelter for more than 3,800 individuals, including 

1,900 children.

	 •	In 2007, MHS provided more than $32 million in

uncompensated care and free services to local communities.

	 •	MHS annually sponsors more than 3,800 health

screenings, community education classes, and other activities 

designed to meet community needs. 

	 •	Senior Connection, a free program for those 55 and

older, offers Medicare advice, referrals for home health care, 

and other information from trained counselors. 

	 •	Annually, Mercy partners give thousands of hours of

their time and more than $550,000 in donations to local 

organizations.

For more information:

Mercy Health System

1000 Mineral Point Avenue

P.O. Box 5003

Janesville, WI 53547-5003

Telephone: (608) 756-6627

Email: jbea@mhsjvl.org

Web site: www.mercyhealthsystem.org