dispatches from the new world of work

North Mississippi Medical Center Rules!

I'm in Tupelo, Mississippi, today, courtesy the North Mississippi Medical Center. Among (many!) other things, NMMC is a 2006 recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award—the "Nobel Prize of Enterprise Excellence," as one observer put it.

Now, NMMC is stepping boldly forward with an innovative health education program aimed at children in general and childhood obesity in particular. (Our HHS secretary described it as a problem that is worse than terrorism.) Called "HealthWorks," and modeled after a pioneering program invented by Memorial Hospital of South Bend, Indiana (skip the Notre Dame football quips, please), the program aims to rock the world—and, God knows, we need it.

I am speaking to several groups here, from the medical center and the community at large, and despite the cold (Tupelo is colder than Boston today), having a great time—Southern Hospitality matched with Olympian Aspirations of Excellence.

[You can get the PPT presentations with the links below.—CM]
North Mississippi Medical Center
Excellence. Always. Tupelo, MS
Excellence. Always. Tupelo, MS, Long

Tom Peters posted this on 10/26/07.

Comments

A great healthcare presentation Tom. Thank you â€“ please keep rattling the healthcare cage. We need your help over here too! What is it with childhood obesity? Healthcare can do some of the work but the big solution is NOTHING TO DO WITH DOCTORS AND NURSES. The big solution is within us all individually. I have to ask the thorny question - who are the role models for our precious young people? I am so optimistic when I see the passion of young people for healthy activity despite the example many adults set rather than because of it. Why do we jump to blame others before we look in the mirror? I am appalled that some of the top people in the NHS in the UK are significantly overweight. Sorry, but that is just not the right image and smacks of hypocrisy in the extreme. Frankly I am fed up with the blame for obesity being given to burgers from MacDonaldâ€™s â€“ sorry but that is just a cop out from our own accountability as parents and adults. Phew I feel so much better now â€¦.

Posted by Trevor Gay at October 26, 2007 5:05 PM

My kids watch a children's fun and activity show on TV. Great music! Very positive. But we also have some video tapes of early episodes. What a difference ... The show's vivacious hostess, never a "size zero", has certainly packed on the pounds in the last five years! Surely she knows she is a role model ...

Posted by Mike L. at October 26, 2007 8:03 PM

It is great to see another HealthWorks on the scene! The work that Memorial in South Bend started which will help them become the healthest community is now starting to grow outside the Indiana borders.

We salute both Memorial South Bend and their dedication to innovation everywhere and to North Mississippi Medical Center for changing the health care landscape.

Valarie Willis

Posted by Valarie Willis at October 28, 2007 8:18 PM