Wellstar Paulding Hospital

Wellstar Paulding Hospital (WPH) is a community hospital providing 

inpatient and outpatient care and emergency services through an 

acute care hospital and two connected medical office buildings. It is 

part of Wellstar Health System (WHS), one of the largest and most 

integrated health systems in Georgia.

Health Care Results

• Within the national IBM Watson Health Top 100 Hospitals® index, 

WPH sustained top 10% performance for its mortality index from 

2017 through 2020 (year to date [YTD]), improving from 0.56 in 

2017 to 0.44 in 2019 and increasing to only 0.63 in 2020 (YTD) 

despite the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, the IBM 

Watson top 10% performance level went from approximately 0.7 

in 2017 to 1.4 in 2020. 

• WPH achieved IBM Watson Health Top 100 Hospitals® top 10% 

performance in its inpatient complications index from 2018 to 

2020 (YTD), maintaining 0.50 in 2018–2019 and increasing to 

only about 0.60 in 2020 (YTD) despite COVID-19. During this 

time, the IBM Watson top 10% performance level went from 0.60 

in 2018 to 1.6 in 2020.

• WPH sustained a pressure ulcer rate of zero from 2018 to 2020, 

putting it in the top 10% of the national health care analytics 

Midas DV database.

Senior Leadership

• WPH’s senior leaders are committed to supporting and reinforcing 

their Neighbors Caring for Neighbors (NCN) culture. Senior 

leaders actively participate in daily safety and voice-of-the 

customer (VOC) huddles and visit frontline leaders and staff.

• WPH’s senior leaders demonstrate a personal commitment to legal 

and ethical behavior. They collaborate with the WHS to develop 

and implement policies that support their NCN culture, personally 

review hotline issues and compliance audit findings, and use daily 

safety huddles to both focus on safety issues and recognize WPH 

team members for their courage in raising them. 

Financial and Market Results

• WPH increased its annual operating revenue from about $110 

million in fiscal year (FY) 2018 to about $160 million in FY20. 

During this same time, it maintained about a 10% operating 

margin. On both of these key metrics, WPH exceeded the Moody’s 

Aa2 benchmarks, putting it in a strong financial position. 

• WPH increased its total inpatient market share in its primary 

service area (PSA) from about 20 to 30% from FY17 to FY20, with

2020 Award Recipient

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

Highlights

• Within the national IBM Watson Health Top 100 Hospitals®

index, WPH sustained top 10% performance for its 

mortality index. 

• WPH sustained a pressure ulcer rate of zero from 2018 to 

2020, putting it in the top 10% of the national health care 

analytics Midas DV database.

• WPH achieved an overall score of 91% on the Great Place 

To Work (GPTW) Trust Index Survey from team members 

in FY19, placing it at the Fortune 100 Best 

Companies To Work For benchmark.

• From FY18 to FY20, outpatient performance for “doctors 

courteous and respectful” increased from 87% to 99%, 

“nurses listened carefully” from 87% to 92%, and

“trust staff with care” from 87% to 91%, matching 

the NRC 90th percentile benchmark. 

• Since 2017, WPH has received a Grade A from Leapfrog, 

a national hospital-rating organization focused on safety.
Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

2020 Award Recipient

Wellstar Paulding Hospital 

WHS maintaining a share of about 80% in the PSA. WPH’s closest 

competitor has about a 2% share. 

• WPH’s inpatient discharges and emergency services visits also 

increased during this same time (pre-COVID), from about 5,900 to 

about 8,100 and from about 68,300 to 72,100, both exceeding the 

national IBM ActionOI® database top 10% benchmarks. 

Customer Process and Results

• WPH manages complaints through its Lean Management System, 

daily VOC huddles, and leader rounding. Concerns discovered 

during rounding are reviewed in the VOC huddles to share service 

recovery actions and predict patient engagement, and WPH leaders 

visit patients whose complaints cannot be resolved promptly in 

order to re-engage the patients. These efforts are supported by 

WPH’s SaFER application.

• Inpatient performance for “staff eased discomfort” increased from 

73% in FY18 to 83% in FY20, exceeding the Centers for Medicare 

and Medicaid Services 90th percentile benchmark. Likewise, from 

FY18 to FY20, outpatient performance for “doctors courteous and 

respectful” increased from 87% to 99%, “nurses listened carefully” 

from 87% to 92%, and “trust staff with care” from 87% to 91%, 

matching the NRC 90th percentile benchmark. 

People Process and Results

• WPH’s focus on its NCN culture begins with the Hire for Fit process 

to align employees with its culture and its mission, vision, and 

values. Expectations are further reinforced through “My team will/I 

will” statements that align each team member’s activities with 

WPH’s goals and values. 

• WPH achieved an overall GPTW trust score of 91% positive for 

employee team members in FY19 (up from 84% in FY17), placing 

it in the top 100 of 1,800 organizations in all industries. During this 

same time, it increased its trust scores on credibility from 80 to 

88%, respect from 78 to 86%, fairness from 77 to 83%, pride 

from 84 to 91%, and camaraderie from 84 to 89%, all matching the 

GPTW top-100 level.

Strategic Planning

• WPH uses a three-phase scan, plan, deploy strategic planning 

approach that aligns its strategies with the WHS’s strategies and 

True North (strategic objective) themes. 

• WPH’s bubble teams, made up of leaders and frontline workers, 

cascade the hospital’s strategies and action plans to all operational 

and workforce segments. These teams are supported via the active 

use of the Lean Management System (LMS), as well as multiple 

communication methods.

Citizenship Process and Results

• WHS leaders identify areas of need via the system’s triennial 

community health needs assessment in conjunction with local

boards. Senior leaders and team members actively improve 

key communities through health and wellness programs, 

leadership in local organizations, student shadowing, donations, 

and sponsorships.

• In 2019, WPH conducted 35 community events and more than 

1,200 school health classes. It also participated in more than 40 

local outreach events, including screenings, and sponsored 

24 local events. 

Performance Management

• WHS utilizes its LMS to manage overall organizational performance. 

The LMS drives problem solving and continuous learning from the 

senior leaders to the frontline, and performance tracking using LMS 

tools enables all team members to submit ideas and be problem 

solvers. The LMS also enables WHS to embed learning and to 

transfer knowledge through “standard work” across services and 

workforce segments.

Process Efficiency/Effectiveness and Results

• WPH developed a Safety 4 building model that incorporates 

elements “to be the safest hospital in the world.” In addition, 

WPH’s NCN culture encourages all team members to speak up 

for the safety of patients, other team members, and themselves. 

Processes to enhance safety include safety huddles, SaFER 

Reporting, ongoing training, environment of care rounding, rootcause analysis, and acuity-adjusted staffing ratios.

• Since 2017, WPH has received a Grade A from Leapfrog, a national 

hospital-rating organization focused on safety. During this time, the 

hospital has had only two serious safety events (SSE 1’s), while the 

other A-rated hospitals throughout the country had an average of 

71 SSE 1 events.

For more information:

Wellstar Paulding Hospital

2518 Jimmy Lee Smith Pkwy, 

Hiram, GA 30141

www.wellstar.org

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program

The Baldrige Program educates organizations of all sizes and 

from all sectors in organizational performance management and 

improvement. We also administer the Malcolm Baldrige National

Quality Award. Our key services are to identify and recognize 

role-model organizations, share best management practices, 

and help organizations achieve best-in-class performance levels.

We are the only public-private partnership and Presidential award 

program dedicated to improving U.S. organizations. 

For more information on the Baldrige Program: 

www.nist.gov/baldrige | 301-975-2036 | baldrige@nist.gov