GRQC is your trusted partner on the path to sustained excellence.
GRQC helps area organizations achieve sustained performance excellence by helping their leaders and teams learn and adopt best practices in improvement processes and organizational culture. We offer a broad range of easy-to-access services to meet the needs of all organizations, regardless of size, sector or experience with continuous improvement.
2024 Performance Excellence Awards Recognizes 22 Award Winners, Including Three Platinum Award Recipients
An enthusiastic crowd descended on the Memorial Art Gallery October 16 for the 2024 GRQC Showcase and Performance Excellence Awards. The attendees networked with friends and colleagues in beautiful surroundings, learned about this year's winning projects and several organizations highlighted in the exhibit hall, and enjoyed an informative keynote address by Christina Gullo of True North Executive Solutions, LLC. And for the second consecutive year, three organizations won the coveted George K. Hansen Platinum Award!
Click below to meet this year's winners.
Click below to view photos from this exciting event.
Teams from Hillside, Rochester Regional Health, and UR Medicine won the George K. Hansen Platinum award, which indicates a level of excellence so extraordinary that it is normally awarded only every few years. It was a bittersweet moment for many in the hall - joy over celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of these local organizations, tempered by sorrow over the passing of George Hansen, who contributed so much to Rochester's quality community over the years, and whose name the award bears.
The GRQC Performance Excellence Award Program helps organizations in all sectors of the economy gain valuable insights into strategic areas of their operations, connect with like-minded leaders in high performing organizations, and earn formal recognition for achieving excellence through continuous improvement methodologies. A GRQC review team, including experienced Malcolm Baldrige examiners and past Empire State Advantage and Partners in Performance Excellence examiners, evaluates each application using a simplified version of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award scoring guidelines. “GRQC is a beacon to local organizations seeking to be the best versions of themselves,” said Mark Gruba, who served as the emcee for the event.
Performance Excellence Awards are presented in three categories: Team Excellence, Organizational Excellence, and Customer Experience.
The 2024 Customer Experience Award recipients are:
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UR Medicine Golisano Children's Hospital, More than Hair: Improving Healthcare Equity Through Haircare, Silver Award
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UR Medicine Golisano Children's Hospital, Family Connections: "Buddy Program", Silver Award
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Flight Wine Bar, Elevating our Customer's Experience, Silver Award
The 2024 Organizational Excellence Award recipient is:
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Oak Orchard Health, Organizational Excellence, Bronze Award
The 2024 Team Excellence Award recipients are:
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Seneca Foods, Beneficiary Designation in 401(k) Plan, Bronze Award
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UR Medicine, Improving Prostate Magnetic Resonance Image Quality Collaboratively, Bronze Award
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Lifetime Benefit Solutions, Reimbursement File Automation and Process Improvement Initiative, Bronze Award
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UR Medicine Noyes Health, Addition of Pharmacy Medication Reconciliation Technician, Bronze Award
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Rochester Regional Health, Interventions to decrease residents on Antipsychotic Medications, Bronze Award
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UR Medicine Golisano Children's Hospital, Cardiac Arrest Prevention - Reducing Cardiac Arrest Associated Mortality, Silver Award
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Heritage Christian Services, Reimagining Day Habilitation Services for Long Term Viability, Silver Award
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Rochester Regional Health, Unity Hospital Perioperative Operating Room Cost Containment, Silver Award
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UR Medicine Noyes Health, Pharmacy: Inventory Reduction and Cost Saving Initiatives, Silver Award
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UR Medicine, Improving access to outpatient Computerized Tomography examination, Gold Award
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UR Medicine, Improving Barcoded Medication Administration Compliance, Gold Award
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Paychex, Paychex Flex® Perks, Gold Award
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Rochester Regional Health, Huddling Together: A Relentless Focus on Medication Safety, Gold Award
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Hillside, Agency Fleet Vehicle Utilization, Gold Award
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Rochester Regional Health, A Rural Hospital’s Approach to Addressing Heart Failure Patient Care Gaps, Gold Award
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Hillside, Implementing a Tracking System for Notifications & Authorizations for HCBS Services, Platinum Award
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Rochester Regional Health, Treat to Target for Inpatient Discharge Planning, Platinum Award
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UR Medicine, Surgical Value Incubator, Platinum Award
Congratulations to all of this year's award winners!
Join us for upcoming events!
Coming in 2025:
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January - "Everybody Complains about the Weather, but..." - Weather Forecasting in Upstate NY
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February - Bonus Webinar - Applications of Process Flow Mapping in the Non-Profit Sector
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February - The NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub - What it Means for Rochester and Upstate NY
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March - Managing Stress and Promoting Wellness - A Healthcare Perspective
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April - International Hospitality and Service Innovation - Integrating technology, information systems and analytics
And more. Check back for details!
More Learning Opportunities for You - Announcing a Pilot Partnership with PEN
Our continuing commitment to you is to offer a broad range of services that cut across improvement disciplines and address the challenges you face. This includes collaborating with other professional organizations so we can offer you a robust portfolio of solutions.
We are excited to announce a trial partnership with PEN (Performance Excellence Network) of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota! PEN has a similar history, purpose, and portfolio of services as GRQC. This includes hosting ~20 webinars per year; recent PEN webinars have addressed Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Building Accountability, Team Building, Employee Engagement, Baldrige, and Reducing Stress. Click here to learn more about PEN.
We are now making future PEN webinars available to you! Through the end of 2024, GRQC and PEN will co-announce and share invitations to each other’s webinars. Combined with the Performance Excellence Forums (PEFs) we host each year, you will now have an expanded number of learning opportunities! We look forward to the cross-sharing of knowledge and best practices between our two organizations.
You will receive notification of the PEN webinars through the same channels we use to announce the GRQC PEFs, and you can register on our website. Click here for information about PEN's November webinars.
We encourage you to take advantage of this expanded set of learning opportunities! We will track how much interest is shown in the PEN webinars and decide at year-end on whether to continue and/or expand our PEN partnership.
Learn About Partner Programs and Events
November PEN Webinars
As part of GRQC's new partnership with the Performance Excellence Network, we are pleased to invite you to these upcoming Thursday morning webinars.
Reducing Stress, Preventing Burnout, Improving Performance — November 14
A recent Gallup study reveals that U.S. workers are among the most stressed in the world: 83% of U.S. workers suffer from work-related stress. And it’s impacting our work (stress costs businesses and the economy trillions of dollars in absenteeism, low productivity, and healthcare costs) and our health (stress contributes to 90% of all illness and disease).
This discussion will feature Shannon Murphy, CEO of BrainSkills@Work, who will first share a neuroscience-based framework to manage your brain state, decrease stress, and increase your leadership effectiveness. We will then have a panel discussion, exploring how several leaders manage their stress and work to create an environment that reduces their team’s stress.
Stress inevitably leads to poor leadership decisions and reduced overall performance — in any role in any organization or industry. Come explore ways you can reduce your team (and your own) stress, prevent burnout, increase resilience, and improve your leadership.
Click here for more information and registration.
November 28
Happy Thanksgiving!
Upcoming Programs at MCC
Monroe Community College is offering several programs this fall that may be of interest to GRQC members and friends. Here is a listing.
AI Certificate for Corporate Management - AI Certificate for Corporate Management (monroecc.edu)
Certified Stratasys Operator (3-D Printing) – https://campusce.monroecc.edu/monroecc/course/course.aspx?C=938
Universal Robots Operator Training - Professional Development | Economic & Workforce Development Center (workforceforward.com)
RIT|Certified - Upcoming Belt Programs
Yellow Belt and Green Belt certification via an academic (for-credit) pathway are available every semester. Use the following links for information about these programs:
Click here to visit the RIT|Certified website and search for courses.
View presentations and videos from recent
GRQC programs
Leading with Purpose: Empowering Leadership for Lasting Organizational Change
Visionary education leader Dr. Shaun Nelms offers a practical, hands-on guide for leaders looking to implement distributed leadership models that prioritize equity and empower their teams. He provides clear and actionable strategies to transform complex systems and address issues that lead to stagnation in the workplace. Emphasizing the importance of involving diverse stakeholders in decision-making, the program helps leaders build trust, create a shared vision, and foster collaboration within their organizations.
Through real-world examples and case studies, the program equips leaders with the tools to navigate potential challenges during implementation. This resource is essential for those committed to fostering more equitable and inclusive work environments through distributed leadership.
While many of the examples and stories in today’s program come from the education sector, the principles are applicable to leaders in any sector who are committed to fostering more equitable and inclusive work environments through distributed leadership.
Click below to view the Zoom recording of this event.
Healthcare Forum 2024 - Artificial Intelligence in Rochester Healthcare: Current Reality and Future Promise
Learn about the current and future potential of AI to help improve health and support providers of care throughout the Rochester region. Topics and presenters include:
AI in Healthcare: From Automation to Intelligent Systems
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Kathleen Fear, PhD, Senior Director, Digital Health & AI and Director of Data & Analytics, Health Lab, UR Medicine
How can AI promote public health?
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Marielena Velez de Brown, MD, Commissioner of Public Health, Monroe County
Algorithms, Integrity, and Ethics: The Human Side of AI
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Everett Weiss, MD, Physician, Special Care Nursery and Medical Director, Health Informatics, Rochester Regional Health
Promoting Provider Wellness and Quality Care: AI’s Role in Reducing Cognitive Burden for Ambulatory Providers
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Kristina Haralambides, FNP-C, Lead Director Provider Informatics, UR Medicine
AI integration into provider workflows
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Sara Fraser, CPC, CRC, CPC-I, Senior Director, Coding Operations & Strategic Development at Cognisight, LLC, and GRIPA
AI in Action at UR Medicine
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Kathleen Fear, PhD, Senior Director, Digital Health & AI and Director of Data & Analytics, Health Lab, UR Medicine
Click below to view the Zoom recording for this event.
GRQC Resource Center
GRQC is your resource for tools and templates, case studies, local consulting resources, and links to industry-leading websites to aid you in your pursuit of performance excellence and quality improvement. Click on the links below to access information.
Download favorite tools of GRQC Board members
Dowload presentations from recent GRQC events.
Visit these websites for useful tools and templates.
Check back often to access new material that you can use!
Tools You Can Use - Free From GRQC!
GRQC has assembled a searchable library of tools developed by our members, partners and friends, and is offering them free to website users. Find tried and tested tools, templates and information about a wide variety of quality processes: control charts, FMEA, Lean, Pugh matrix, and many others. You can search the library by keyword or by sector (business, healthcare, education, etc.). When you find what you need, simply click on the tool name to download it to your PC.
Click the button below to go to the webpage Homegrown Tools in the GRQC Knowledge Center, and take advantage of the expertise of our members and friends.
Find Resources You Can Use On The Job
Be a Part of GRQC's Mission - Volunteer!
Would you like to partner with GRQC to advance performance excellence in the community without making a long-term commitment? We have just the thing for you – volunteering to help one of our committees! GRQC has eight committees that help us achieve our strategic objectives. These committees are staffed by GRQC Board members and volunteers. We invite you to visit our new Volunteer Opportunity website page and reach out to any of the committee contacts to lean more or to express your interest. Volunteer opportunities are open to GRQC members and non-members alike. We’d love to have you join us!
Become a GRQC Member
GRQC benefits its members through a wide variety of program activities and membership services, including:
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Participation in GRQC Workshops and Programs.
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Participation in GRQC’s community projects.
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Interaction with leaders and innovators regarding best practices in quality.
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Contributing to making the Greater Rochester area a community of excellence.
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Opportunities for networking with other organizations on the journey to excellence.
Our Champion and Advocate Level Members
