Quality and governance in hospitals.

What is the role of the board in quality initiatives in an organization? How can the board improve its own processes through quality initiatives? What are the quality attributes that a board should monitor? The board at St. Mary's Hospital in Kitchener addressed these questions, resulting in a rethinking of the board's role and its relationship to the operation of the hospital. This article discusses how the board has been restructured, and how it has shifted over the past few years to a CQI focus.