Addicted to quality--winning the Dutch Quality Award based on the EFQM Model.

The Jellinek Center is a treatment service for prevention, care and cure of clients with addiction problems. Ten years ago the first quality improvement program was started. In 1994 the management team did the first formal self-assessment based on the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Model and three assessors from the "Instituut Nederlandse Kwaliteit" audited the Jellinek and delivered a feedback report which was used to make an elaborate two-year work-plan. Five projects to improve the quality of the Jellinek Center were identified and carried out. After two years, the work-plan was evaluated and the improvements assessed through a self-assessment conducted by the management team and an external audit team made up of six assessors. The findings of the self-assessment were presented to the Dutch jury for the EFQM Award and the Jellinek Center won the Dutch Quality Award. The Jellinek is not complacent, however, as it recognises that the next phase of the quality management journey is to carry out self-assessment in all teams, redesign the treatment processes and improve performance measurements.