What is the role of the board in quality initiatives in an organization? How can the board improve its own processes through quality initiatives? What are the quality attributes that a board should monitor? The board at St. Mary's Hospital in Kitchener addressed these questions, resulting in a rethinking of the board's role and its relationship to the operation of the hospital. This article discusses how the board has been restructured, and how it has shifted over the past few years to a CQI focus.
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St. Mary's General Hospital is a 230-bed acute care hospital, offering adult medical and surgical programming to the people of Waterloo Region. St. Mary's is one of five members of the St. Joseph's Health Care System owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph, Hamilton.
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The board is the agent of change in that it imposes a change mentality by subscribing to and asking for quality improvement. The “how” is left to management.
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