Late in 2007, Sister Mary Jean Ryan, FSM, President/CEO, SSM Health Care, and Paula Friedman, SSM corporate vice president, strategy and systems improvements, joined other international quality experts and business leaders in Argentina and Brazil to advocate for quality improvement.

The conferences in both countries were designed to encourage quality improvement in all sectors of health care, business and government.

In all, Sister Mary Jean gave six speeches, several keynotes and several breakouts, providing a CEO’s perspective on guiding an organization through quality improvement efforts and inspiring leadership at all levels of the organization.

Friedman, one of 12 federally appointed volunteer judges for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, shared her expertise about the Baldrige process with judges and examiners from the nation’s quality programs, discussing the application of the Baldrige criteria, and the process for selecting and training local examiners and judges.

In Pilar, Argentina, they toured the Austral University Hospital and talked to the medical staff about clinical improvements, patient, employee and physician satisfaction and financial improvement, as well as how to encourage staff and physicians in the pursuit of quality.

“No matter how many countries we visit, we find a common quest for improvement in health care – organizations want to know more about how they can improve the care they deliver to those they serve,” Friedman said.