The Fine Awards for Teamwork Excellence in Health Care

(L to R): Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD, president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and PRHI; Milton Fine, chairman and president of The Fine Foundation; and Sheila Fine.

The principles and techniques embedded in PRHI's improvement methodology, Perfecting Patient CareSM, work exceptionally well in many circumstances, but they must be taught, studied, and applied properly to be effective. For this, we rely on champions of process improvement coming forth from the frontline ranks. These are the leaders of change essential to transformation. But champions alone are not sufficient for transformation. Where dramatic improvements occur, champions elicit the support of a qualified team.

Because of this, The Fine Foundation, and the leadership of its founders Milton and Sheila Fine, have generously supported a new healthcare award in team excellence. The Jewish Healthcare Foundation, PRHI's parent organization, is proud to partner with The Fines to make this award concept a reality.

Each year, many applications are received, and the most outstanding are then vetted by a team of national experts in healthcare quality improvement. The finalists are invited to an awards ceremony, where the winners are announced and honored.

Together, the stories of the Fine Award winning teams make a compelling case for the importance of teamwork and methodical intent in quality and safety improvement. Our objective is to develop a national appetite and capacity for dramatic breakthroughs at the front line: the spread and dissemination of best practices from teamwork with best intent.