Quint Studer has added yet another prestigious accolade to his already impressive collection. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos principal owner and Healthcare Plus Solutions Group co-founder has been named one of the 2025 Baldrige Foundation Leadership Excellence Awards recipients.
- WHY IT MATTERS: The Baldrige Award is a big deal. Given by the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, it recognizes leaders who embody the values of excellence in leadership and management. Studer is one of just four healthcare leaders nationwide to receive this honor.
Baldrige History
This isn’t Studer’s first dance with Baldrige recognition. In 2010, his then-company Studer Group was one of only seven U.S. organizations to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. According to Studer, he was inspired to apply after watching organizations his firm worked with follow the Baldrige framework and improve as a result.
- “The Baldrige framework made them better,” Studer explains. “And some of them ended up receiving the Baldrige Award. We decided to go through the process too. We applied for the Baldrige Award several times and finally won. It was exciting, but more important, it made us better.”
In 2004, Baptist Hospital won a Baldrige award. Five years earlier, Studer had been hired to turnaround the hospital’s dismal patient and employee ratings. Under Studer’s leadership, patient satisfaction soared to 99%, employee turnover dropped from 30% to 12%, and the hospital added $1.8 million to its bottom line.
BACKGROUND: I interviewed Fred Donovan, who served as chairman of the Baptist Health Care System board and CEO of Baskerville Donovan, for an upcoming book on the Maritime Park referendum. Donovan reflected on their decision to hire Studer:
“We knew we had to do something about that. Who’s number one in the nation? It was Holy Cross, and this guy, Quint Studer, was running it. We brought him down a couple of times. And then, finally, we hired him and made him the president of Baptist Hospital.”
Current Work
Since moving on from Studer Group, he founded Healthcare Plus Solutions Group with business partner Dan Collard. The organization’s mission is to positively impact those who receive care and those who provide care. HPSG specializes in helping healthcare organizations diagnose and treat their most urgent pain points in order to achieve and sustain results.
“At HPSG, we continue to live by the principles Baldrige stands for,” says Studer. “We never stop trying to get stronger and better. We feel we owe it to our partners.”
Community Impact
Studer’s impact extends far beyond healthcare. He has been relentless in his pursuit of community revitalization, founding the Studer Community Institute to advance early brain development and leadership training, as well as the Center for Civic Engagement to bring community best practices to our area.
- The results speak for themselves. Downtown Pensacola has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade, with Studer’s fingerprints on everything from real estate development to small business incubation to cultural investments.
Quint and Rishy Studer have given generously to countless organizations, including the Studer Family Children’s Hospital, Baptist Healthcare Behavioral Medicine Center, Bear Levin Studer Family YMCA, UWF, IHMC, and many others.