Southcentral Foundation, an Alaska Native Health Care System, was one of four enterprises honored by President Obama and Commerce Secretary Bryson as a recipient of the prestigious 2011 Malcolm Baldridge Award. This is a first for Alaska, a first for a Native enterprise and a first for health systems other than hospitals. Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the award promotes innovation and excellence in organizational performance among U.S. organizations.
The Southcentral Foundation’s unique Nuka System of Care includes an extensive employee development program in which frontline staff can work their way up from medical assistants to the highest ranks of the organization. The Southcentral Foundation’s Health Care System is one of the Pioneer Employers featured by The Hitachi Foundation through our collaboration with the Center for Health Professions. Katherine Gottlieb, Southcentral’s visionary President & CEO, received the distinguished MacArthur Foundation Genius Award in 2004.
To celebrate this extraordinary achievement, The Hitachi Foundation along with the National Congress of American Indians, the Rasmuson Foundation and others, hosted a well-attended reception at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian on April 17. Top-level administration officials from the White House, the United States Departments of Commerce and Health and Human Services, along with members of Congress were in attendance.
