Full Biography

John attended the University of Arkansas where he received his BSBA
in Accounting/DPQA and Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas
where he received his Masters Degree in Hospital and Healthcare
Administration. He is a CPA and Fellow of the American College of
Healthcare Executives.
John Heer is the world’s only CEO to have won the Baldrige National
Quality Award three times. This was accomplished at two different
organizations, one of which was the first and only Healthcare
organization to win the award twice.

Leadership Philosophy
According to John, the phrase that best describes achievement of these
results is: “Culture: It’s Not the Soft Stuff.” His approach consists of
Servant Culture, Servant Leadership, Employee Engagement and
Organization Sustainability. The use of the term “Servant” does
not reflect a meek or passive approach. In fact, Servant Leaders
are very demanding when it comes to mission, vision, values, morals,
ethical behavior and hitting performance targets. It is his belief
that great results can be achieved in a respectful, inspirational manner.
His use of “Servant” reflects his opinion that we are here to serve our
employees, not the other way around. Here’s why: If employees
and physicians come to work every day excited about their work,
customer/patient satisfaction will be better, quality will be higher,
financial results will be better and business growth will occur.
John has been featured in numerous articles and books and
has given presentations about his approach to dozens of
organizations from around the USA.

In addition to the Baldrige Awards, John has received the following awards and recognitions:
• Harry S. Hertz Leadership Award 2016 (“The Baldrige for individuals” according to
​Chairman of the Baldrige Foundation Board, Dr. George Benson)
• Fortune Magazine “Top 100 Companies to Work” For 3 straight years 
• #1 hospital in Press, Ganey patient satisfaction database for 5 straight years
• 100 Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems USA for 12 straight years
• QUEST Award for High Value Healthcare 3 years
• Modern Healthcare Top Health Systems
• VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence
• Modern Healthcare Best Places to Work
• Thomson Reuters Top 100 Hospitals Everest Award
• Verispan Top 100 Integrated HealthCare Network 9 straight years
• H&HN 25 Most Wireless 9 straight years
• Performance Improvement Leaders Top 100 Hospitals 3 straight years
• American Hospital Association/McKesson Quest for Quality Prize®
• Increased bottom-line by 132% from $20 million to $47 million
• Increased Cash Balance from $240 million to over $525 million in 9 years
• AA Rated by Moody’s and Standards and Poor’s
• Trinity University Health Care Administration Program Alumni of the Year 2015

​Business Excellence Hospitals Outperform their Peers

New Study Finds t hat Baldrige Award Recipient Hospitals Significantly Outperform Their Peers
From NIST Tech Beat: October 25, 2011

​A new report has found that health care organizations
that have won Baldrige National Quality Awards for
performance excellence or been considered for a
Baldrige Award site visit outperform other hospitals in
nearly every metric used to determine the 100 Top
Hospitals, a national recognition given by Thomson
Reuters.
Commissioned by the Foundation for the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award, a private
organization, and conducted by Thomson Reuters, the
report found that Baldrige hospitals were six times
more likely to be counted among the 100 Top
Hospitals, which represent the top 3 percent of
hospitals in the United States, and that they
statistically outperform the 100 Top Hospitals on core
measures established by the U.S. Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services.
To evaluate the benefits of health care organizations
using the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence,
the Baldrige Foundation chose to conduct a
comparison with the Thomson Reuters 100 Top
Hospitals national study. The 18-year-old Thomson
Reuters program is based on a rigorous, time-tested
statistical methodology using publically available,
unbiased data.
"[H]ospitals using the Baldrige process are

​significantly more likely than peers to become 100
Top Hospitals award winners, thereby achieving
performance equal to or better than the top 3
percent," the report statea.
…Baldrige hospitals also were far more likely than
their peers to be cited for marked improvement over a
span of five years. According to the report, "[m]ore
than 27 percent of Baldrige winner hospitals also won
a 100 Top Hospitals: Performance Improvement
Leaders award, while only 3 percent of their non-
Baldrige peers won the award."
"The results of the Thomson Reuters study confirm
what we've known for years: using the Baldrige
Criteria and the earnest pursuit of the Baldrige
evaluation will improve your organization by nearly
every measure of success, be it in outcomes, safety,
customer and employee satisfaction, or profitability,"
says Baldrige Performance Excellence Program
Director Harry Hertz.
The study, Comparison of Baldrige Award Applicants
and Recipients with Peer Hospitals on a National
Balanced Scorecard, is available
atwww.nist.gov/baldrige/upload/baldrige-hospitalresearch-
paper.pdf.