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BEAVER, PA (June 2, 2008) – Rick Beaver, Vice President of Quality and Support Services at Heritage Valley Health System, has been appointed by Dr. James M. Turner, Acting Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to the 2008 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Award, created by public law in 1987, is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive.

As an examiner, Beaver is responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the Award. The board is composed of approximately 500 leading experts selected from industry, professional and trade organizations, education and health care organizations and government.

Those selected meet the highest standards of qualification and peer recognition. All members of the board must take part in a preparation course based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and the scoring and evaluation processes for the Baldrige Award.

Awards may be given annually in each of six categories: Manufacturing, Service, Small Business, Education, Health Care, and Non-profit. Awards have been presented to 74 organizations, including the (2007) Award recipients: PRO-TEC Coating Co., Mercy Health System, Sharp HealthCare, City of Coral Springs, and U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC).

Information about the Baldrige National Quality Program and the application process is available from the Baldrige National Quality Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Administration Bldg., Room A600, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1020, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1020, telephone: 301/975-2036, fax: 301/948-3716. Information also can be found on the Baldrige National Quality Program's website at http://www.baldrige.nist.gov.

Heritage Valley Health System provides comprehensive health care for residents of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and Lawrence counties, in Pennsylvania; eastern Ohio and the panhandle of West Virginia. In partnership with more than 400 physicians, Heritage Valley offers a broad range of medical, surgical and diagnostic services at its two hospitals, Heritage Valley Beaver and Heritage Valley Sewickley; in physician offices; community satellite facilities; and in patients' homes.