SHELTON, WA – Mason Health Chief Development & Communications Officer Jennifer Capps has been named the new Vice President of the Performance Excellence Northwest Board of Directors. She joins a slate of officers that includes new President Linda Barnes, DrPH, of X-Cell System International; Secretary Joni Dixon, Director of Quality at PeaceHealth, and Treasurer Paul Fisher, recently retired from Western Governors University College of Business. Performance Excellence Northwest (PENW) is a regional organization committed to helping American businesses improve processes through the national Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP) framework.

Founded more than 30 years ago by former Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige, the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program helps companies compete in an increasingly competitive global market. PENW works regionally in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, under the guidance of Executive Director Theron Post. Mason Health began its working relationship with PENW in 2016, with Senior Leadership undergoing Baldrige training. Capps joined the PENW board in January 2021.

“I am thrilled to serve with such a great group of talented professionals,” Capps said. “Experiencing the Baldrige framework at Mason Health and continuing my experience at PENW with Theron, I have seen firsthand the value in this framework and how it has transformed leaders and teams across the District and our entire organization. I have a personal and professional responsibility to share that framework so other organizations can succeed. This is an opportunity to make a difference, and I know we are doing great work.”

PENW supports organizations in achieving their goals and reaching new levels of excellence, be that in health care, education or whatever sector in which an organization belongs, Post said.

“In broad terms, for a health care organization, their goals may be about providing good care and helping people get better, while for a university, it may be about student outcomes and achievement, or staff satisfaction,” Post continued. “PENW can help them assess internal systems (leadership, strategy, customer, data, workforce and operations) and processes and think about effectiveness and efficiency to better serve their patients and other stakeholder in a new way. It’s an organic model where it is up to the organization to decide how they are improving key system and moving forward to achieve higher levels of performance.”

PENW board members serve for three years, with officers elected to one-year terms. Past President Dixon, who now serves as Secretary, joined PENW a little more than 10 years ago.

“I was drawn to the organization due to the commitment to continuous improvement,” Dixon said. “By engaging with top level organizations in our region, our goal was to help the good get even better using the nationally recognized Baldrige framework. I have appreciated the skill and knowledge that I’ve gained over the years by being involved with PENW.”

New President Barnes has served on the board since 2016 and served last year as Vice President.

“I was attracted to PENW because I began to study what makes organizations function effectively, perform well and serve their communities,” she said. “The Baldrige criteria embodies all those things. Organizations are focused on their internal workings and learn how to make sure they are socially responsible, resilient, innovative and focused on serving their key communities. Kudos to Mason Health for being on that journey to excellence.”

Mason Health, Public Hospital District No. 1 of Mason County, is certified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and is a licensed and accredited acute care hospital with a level four emergency trauma designation. Mason General Hospital and Mason Clinic are ENERGY STAR® certified and Mason Health is the recipient of the Practice Greenhealth Partner for Change Environmental Excellence Award. There are more than 100 physicians on staff in 19 specialties. For more information or to find a health care provider, visit www.masongeneral.com.

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