Castle Medical Center has been given an award for exceptional organizational quality by the Hawaii Award of Excellence program.

The hospital was given the 'Oihana Maika'i Purple Lei Award, the highest level of award given by the program. Castle in 2003 won a lower-level award recognizing organizational quality.

The award program is patterned after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, with winners being regarded as models of excellence for other Hawai'i organizations. The local award was developed in 1994 by a team that was lead by The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. Among the program's goals are raising the economic vitality and profitability of local organizations and helping assure the state's economic success.

"Receiving the 'Oihana Maika'i award helps to validate our initiatives around mission-driven patient care, quality and safety and responsible management of our limited resources," Castle Medical President Kevin Roberts said in a press statement.

Castle said it was the only recipient of an award this year and was honored for several reasons, including a number of efforts focused on raising performance and excellence at the medical center. It also was cited for having a clear focus on providing care to the community that's consistent with its faith-based origins.

The 160-bed medical center located in Kailua is part of the not-for-profit Adventist Health system.