This document discusses the journey of Feather River Hospital in Paradise, CA to achieve Baldrige excellence. It seeks to dispel common myths about the Baldrige process. Feather River Hospital has been able to achieve Baldrige recognition despite starting with financial losses, average leadership skills, and room for improvement in clinical and staff satisfaction measures. The document emphasizes that the Baldrige process requires strategic planning, leader development, targeting of best practices, innovation, and most importantly, making the time for continuous improvement. Feather River Hospital's perseverance resulted in them becoming a two-time Baldrige gold award winner and recipient of the 2010 Governor's award.