Donor Alliance, the federally-designated, non-profit organ procurement organization and American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) accredited tissue bank serving Colorado and Wyoming, today announced its receipt of the Timberline Award from Rocky Mountain Performance Excellence (RMPEx), a nonprofit helping organizations improve performance and achieve results.

RMPEx is a program dedicated to enabling organizations to evolve and succeed through the effective application of Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. RMPEx is the regional chapter of the prestigious national Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, established by Congress and President Ronald Reagan in 1987.  It is the only presidential-level award for quality in the U.S.  Each year, RMPEx formally recognizes role-model applicants from the Rocky Mountain region for performance excellence achievements with four levels of awards.

After being selected for the Foothills Award in 2012, Donor Alliance was elevated to the Timberline Award level last month. The Timberline Award is for organizations that have gained expertise in the RMPEx/Baldrige criteria and are ready for a detailed discussion of their processes. The discussion includes information on approach, deployment, learning and integration. Timberline Awards are presented to applicants who demonstrate systematic and mature approaches, effective deployment, process learning and process integration in their response to criteria questions.

“We are dedicated to continuous improvement as an organization, because our lifesaving work impacts thousands of patients in need right here in the Rocky Mountain community,” said Sue Dunn, president and CEO of Donor Alliance. “It is for this reason that we have committed to participating in the RMPEx excellence journey, and we are very proud to have reached the Timberline Award level in recognition of our efforts to improve our performance and quality.”

Donor Alliance was aided in its completion of the RMPEx program application by its CEO Sue Dunn and COO Jennifer Prinz, who were appointed to the 2014 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.  As such, Dunn and Prinz had a close familiarity with the performance improvement criteria of Baldridge.

RMPEx is funded solely by contributions and operational revenues and is one of more than 30 similar state programs that exist throughout the U.S.  The approach is based on the Baldrige criteria for Performance Excellence framework, a proven program that brings innovation and results to any organization.   More information about RMPEx is available at: https://rmpex.org.