This black belt means business

Saint Anthony employee earns national, Six Sigma recognition

CROWN POINT Elaine McCracken is a black belt, but you won’t find her breaking bricks or boards.

Instead McCracken, who is assistant vice president of operational quality and performance at Saint Anthony Medical Center, is breaking through as an expert in quality and performance improvement techniques. McCracken’s efforts have boosted her to the highest levels of peer recognition as an American Society for Quality-certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

A Certified Six Sigma Black Belt is described by the society as a professional who applies Six Sigma philosophies and principles in a variety of business situations.

Six Sigma is a nationally recognized quality methodology for eliminating defects in any process and has widespread application in numerous industry sectors. The fundamental objective is focus on process improvement and variation reduction.

“ASQ provides certification as a way to provide formal recognition to professionals who have demonstrated an understanding of, and commitment to, quality techniques and practices in their job and career,” said President Roberto Saco. The society has been regarded as a leading authority on quality practices for more than 60 years.

McCracken, who worked at Saint Anthony from 1998 to 2004, returned in 2006, when she began her present position.

“As an industrial engineer and a leader of quality and performance improvement, I feel this certificate is an asset to my qualifications,” McCracken said, adding she was required to submit an application that showed she had facilitated several successful Six Sigma projects and to take a four-hour test to gauge her knowledge.

McCracken credits Carol Schuster, Saint Anthony vice president of patient services, for support in achieving the designation.

“Carol Schuster was the champion of the projects and assisted me in the application process,” McCracken said.

Saint Anthony President David Ruskowski said the hospital and Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc., its parent, have been innovators of Six Sigma science and methodology that recently has been applied to health care and clinical process improvements. He added SSFHS hospitals, particularly those in Northwest Indiana have won several awards for their accomplishments.

McCracken, who has been in the healthcare profession since 1986 at a variety of facilities, also has worked as a medical technologist, management engineer, performance improvement education specialist and an internal operations consultant.

She said she was “happy and relieved” when she learned of the honor.

Since 1968 when the first ASQ certification exam was given, more than 160,000 people have worked to achieve the status. For more information about the Six Sigma Black Belt program, visit www.asq.org/certification/six-sigma/.