The quest for TQM in a community mental health center: using the Baldrige criteria as a framework.

Background: The St Louis Mental Health Center, an agency of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, is using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria as the organizing scheme for its total quality management (TQM) program. PRE-BALDRIGE STEPS: Personal readiness training for managers coincided with a strategic planning process that also focused on quality. An organizational quality structure was developed and quality improvement teams launched. SELF-ASSESSMENT: In 1994, once the management team decided to use the Baldrige criteria, it began developing and implementing organizational self-assessment criteria. However, it was not until August 1995 that the organizational self-assessment was conducted. Critical areas for improvement were selected on the basis of their alignment with the strategic objectives, their cross-functional nature, an analysis of the costs and benefits of implementation, and the probability of and ability to measure the success of the improvement. EXAMPLE--COMPLAINT AND FEEDBACK SYSTEM: After Baldrige criteria led the agency to determine whether a complaint management process resolves issues effectively and promptly, it was apparent that complaint resolution was not monitored, and various process improvement strategies were implemented.

Conclusions: Use of the Baldrige criteria has helped the agency move forward in its TQM program. Areas for improvement, as documented in the self-assessment phase, become part of the strategic plan. The criteria's focus on process and customer satisfaction are reassuring to staff in a changing health care environment.