The annual AzHHA Quality Awards celebrate and recognize Arizona’s leaders committed to advancing healthcare 
through exceptional quality performance, community engagement and a culture of continuous improvement.
Awards are given out for Top Overall Excellence, Community Engagement, Patient Safety and Quality, and Maternal Health Innovation.
Winners are selected from three classifications:
- Top critical access hospital/Small rural hospital (≤ 100 beds)
- Top general acute care (101+ beds)
- Top federal hospital
Each year, these awards are presented at a luncheon at the Arizona Hospital Leadership Conference.
Now open: 2024 award applications
NEW this year! Awards will be presented for Maternal Health Innovation.
The Second Annual AzHHA Quality Awards applications are now available. Hospitals must be able to highlight a recent project, within the last 12 months, in Patient Safety and Quality, Community Engagement or Maternal Health Innovation. The organization must complete a storyboard application that includes a summary of the following:
- Process of identifying need and project scope
- Leadership and planning
- Process improvement methods
- Results
- Lessons learned and sustainability
Ready to apply? Read our application instructions and complete the Applicant Information form to get started.
Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 31, 2024. The awards will be presented at the 2024 Arizona Hospital Leadership Conference on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024.
2023 award winners
Thank you to everyone who submitted an application for the 2023 AzHHA Quality Awards! These nominations reflected the tremendous work happening across our state to keep advancing outstanding care for all Arizonans. In 2023, awards were presented for Top Overall Excellence, Community Engagement, Patient Safety and Quality, and Emergency Management Innovation.
Congratulations to our 2023 award winners:
Top Overall Excellence Award (recognizing the highest achievement among the top winner from each category): Southern Arizona VA Health Care System for their submission titled “COVID Operational Status Process.”
Community Engagement Award
- Top critical access hospital/small rural hospital (less than or equal to 100 beds): Gila River Health Care for their submission titled “Critical Access to Health Care.”
- Top general acute care (greater or equal to 101 beds): Yuma Regional Medical Center for their submission titled “Keeping Patient-Centered Care in the Community.”
- Top federal hospital: Southern Arizona VA Health Care System for their submission titled “Native American Advocacy.”
Patient Safety and Quality Award
- Top critical access hospital/small rural hospital (less than or equal to 100 beds): Cornerstone Specialty Hospital Southeast Arizona for their submission titled “Acute Transfer Out Process.”
- Top general acute care (greater or equal to 101 beds): Mayo Clinic Arizona for their submission titled “Stroke Door to Needle Times: Improvement and Sustainability.”
- Top federal hospital: Phoenix VA Health Care System for their submission titled “A Multifaceted Approach to CAUTI Reduction.”
Emergency Management Innovation Award
- Top critical access hospital/small rural hospital (less than or equal to 100 beds): Northern Cochise Community Hospital (partner of Tucson Medical Center Health System) for their submission titled “Rural Hospital Emergency Management.”
- Top general acute care (greater or equal to 101 beds): Summit Healthcare for their submission titled “Implementing Peer Support Specialists into the ED.”
- Top federal hospital: Southern Arizona VA Health Care System for their submission titled “COVID Operational Status Process.”
View pictures from the 2023 AzHHA Quality Awards Luncheon.