The sponsor is responsible for aligning resources and ensuring accountability in an improvement project.
The sponsor typically holds a leadership position and has the authority to secure necessary resources, remove obstacles, and ensure that the project stays on track. The sponsor also holds the team accountable for achieving the project's goals and maintaining alignment with organizational priorities.
Team leader (A): The team leader manages day-to-day activities and drives the project forward but does not usually have the authority to align resources and enforce accountability at the organizational level.
Process owner (C): The process owner is responsible for the process being improved but may not have the broader organizational influence required to align resources.
Facilitator (D): The facilitator helps guide discussions and ensures effective team dynamics but does not typically handle resource alignment or accountability.
Reference
NAHQ Body of Knowledge: Roles in Quality Improvement Projects
NAHQ CPHQ Exam Preparation Materials: Responsibilities of Project Sponsors

Quality teams are multidisciplinary groups tasked with driving performance improvement initiatives. Their primary value lies in engaging staff across departments to collaborate on identifying and addressing quality issues.
Option A (Credentialing and re-appointment): Credentialing and re-appointment are administrative processes managed by medical staff offices, not the role of quality teams, which focus on improvement projects.
Option B (Staff involvement): This is the correct answer. NAHQ CPHQ study materials emphasize that quality teams foster staff engagement by involving employees from various roles (e.g., nurses, physicians, support staff) in problem-solving and improvement efforts, promoting a culture of quality and accountability.
Option C (Reporting to the governing body): While quality teams may generate data reported to the governing body, their primary function is to drive improvement, not to serve as a reporting conduit, which is typically handled by quality leaders.
Option D (Administrative support): Administrative support facilitates team activities (e.g., scheduling, resources), but it is not the primary purpose of quality teams, which focus on active staff participation in improvement.
Reference: NAHQ CPHQ Study Guide, Domain 4: Performance and Process Improvement, highlights quality teams as a mechanism for staff involvement in driving organizational quality initiatives.

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is the highest level of national recognition that a U.
S. organization can receive for performance excellence1. The award criteria focus on eight performance dimensions: Leadership and Governance, Strategy, Operations, Operational Continuity, Workforce, Customers and Markets, Community Engagement, and Finance1.
To achieve the Malcolm Baldrige award, an organization must demonstrate organizational resilience and long- term success through favorable performance levels and trends, comparisons to competitors and industry benchmarks (as appropriate), and relevant metrics1. Therefore, reviewing the Malcolm Baldrige standards to determine organization alignment is the best demonstration that an organization has begun the work necessary to achieve the Malcolm Baldrige award.
While creating a team to revise operations to conform to the Malcolm Baldrige requirements (Option A) is a step in the process, it does not necessarily demonstrate that the organization has begun the work necessary to achieve the award. The same applies to developing a crosswalk between Malcolm Baldrige and Joint Commission requirements (Option B) and determining effects on CMS Conditions of Participation (Option C). These actions could be part of the process, but they do not directly demonstrate that the organization has begun the work necessary to achieve the Malcolm Baldrige award.
Beginning work toward achieving the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the criteria and how an organization currently aligns with them. This would involve a thorough review of the Baldrige Excellence Framework, which includes the standards for performance excellence. By assessing current practices against the Baldrige criteria, an organization can identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. This review serves as a foundational step in the Baldrige journey, guiding the development of a detailed action plan to address gaps and enhance performance.
References:The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program provides a framework for organizations to improve performance and achieve excellence. The NAHQ references the Baldrige framework as a comprehensive standard for quality that healthcare organizations can aspire to and align with as part of their continuous quality improvement efforts.