34 Organizations Receive Grants from Largest and First-of-Its-Kind Fund in Private Sector
WASHINGTON, April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- To support initiatives that enhance patient safety and quality of care, Cardinal Health announced today grants totaling $1 million for new and innovative programs at 34 hospitals, health systems and community health clinics across the country. This program is the largest and first of its kind given by a health care company.
The awards were announced today by Cardinal Health Chairman and CEO R. Kerry Clark at a briefing at the National Press Club on Quality as a Path to Improving the Cost of Health Care in America.
Grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 will provide funding for programs that implement creative and replicable methods to improve the quality of patient care. Initiatives that received funding include a regional, collaborative program to reduce Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in New Mexico, an initiative to create the largest national clinical outcomes database to define, measure and benchmark the highest standards of practice in anesthesiology and a hospital in New Jersey using pre-labeled and pre-filled insulin pens to reduce errors in insulin administration.
More than 10 percent (700 organizations) of the nation's hospitals applied for the grants. In choosing recipients, Cardinal Health looked for projects that respond to a clearly identified, high priority safety issue; collaborative programs; projects that apply new thinking and approaches to development of solutions; model programs that can be replicated at other organizations and demonstrable and sustainable measures to ensure that improvements last over time.
"I believe the health care industry can use quality improvements as a strategy to achieve lower costs and provide safer care for our citizens," said Clark. "Fixing health care is not a simple task, but we have it within our control to take simple steps that can have a dramatic effect."
According to the Institute of Medicine, medication mistakes injure more than 1.5 million patients each year, causing nearly 100,000 deaths and costing the health care industry more than $3.5 billion. The 34 grant recipients are tackling these and other quality issues to improve patient safety.
Patient Safety Grant Projects include:
Name Location Initiative
Avera McKenna Hospital & Sioux Falls, Saving lives in rural
University Health Center S.D. communities
Cambridge Health Boston Redefining and redesigning
Alliance hospital discharge
Catholic Healthcare Cincinnati Configure medication use system
Partners using Pyxis automation
technologies
Children's Hospital Madera, Mind the gap: healthy literacy
Central California Calif. initiative
Children's Hospital of Detroit Monitoring of end tidal CO2
Michigan, Wayne State
University
Cincinnati Children's Cincinnati Partnering with families to
Hospital improve patient safety
Community Medical Centers Fresno, Patient quality / safety
Calif. monitoring program
DCH Regional Medical Tuscaloosa, Early predictor of critical
Center Ala. health status using SWAT
intervention
Fairmont General Fairmont, Anticoagulation clinic
Hospital W.Va.
Geisinger Clinic Danville, Adverse drug event assessment
Pa. using electronic health
record
Holy Cross Hospital Silver Crew resource management
Spring,
Md.
Hospital of the Philadelphia The role of end tidal CO2
University of
Pennsylvania
Indianapolis Health Indianapolis Smart pump informatics:
Information Exchange comparing Alaris database
Lee Memorial Health Fort Myers, Structured response through
System Foundation Fla. integration of best practice
nursing interventions and tools
to prevent hospital-acquired
pressure ulcers
Mackinac Straits Hospital St. Ignace, Coumadin therapy monitoring
and Health Center Mich.
MeritCare Health Systems Fargo, N.D. Advanced medical home with
pharmacist intervention
Montefiore Medical Center Bronx, N.Y. Electronic decision support for
prevention of venous
thromboembolic disease
Nationwide Children's Columbus, Fall prevention program in
Hospital Foundation Ohio hospitalized children
New York Presbyterian New York Educating family caregivers -
Hospital catheter related infections
North Shore - Long Island Great Neck, National clinical outcomes
Jewish Health System N.Y. database in anesthesiology
Our Lady of Mercy Medical Bronx, N.Y. Warfarin: Overseeing current
Center practice and implementing
measures for safe use
Palomar Pomerado North Escondido, Adverse Drug Event evaluation
County Health Development Calif. project
Providence Hospital Mobile, Antibiotic prophylaxis in
Ala. cardiac surgery: The effects of
obesity on serum levels during
surgery
Rady Children's Hospital San Diego Improving pediatric
& Health Center anticoagulation safety
Rush University Medical Chicago Prospective model for
Center identifying patients at risk for
catheter-associated urinary
tract infections
Saint Barnabas Medical West Insulin therapy risk reduction
Center Foundation Orange, program
N.J.
Santa Clara Valley San Jose, (1) Improve the survival rate of
Medical Center Calif. very low birth weight infants;
Foundation (2) and (2) Building a safe bridge
between inpatient and outpatient
settings for anticoagulation
Sunrise Community Health Evans, Integration of patient care:
Colo. Pharmacy and EHR
University Medical Center Las Vegas Antibiotic stewardship/infection
of Southern Nevada control program
University of California San Diego Safety and health improvement
project
University of New Mexico Albuquerque, Regional collaborative program
Health Sciences Center N.M. to reduce MRSA in New Mexico
Wellmont Health System Kingsport, Safest hospital initiative
Tenn.
Whidbey General Hospital Whidbey Infection control bundles
Foundation Island,
Wash.
In addition to the corporate commitment to patient safety, the Cardinal Health Foundation has provided more than $10 million for significant health care initiatives since its inception in 2002. Many of these have a special focus on patient safety including:
-- Serving as a lead sponsor for the Institute for Healthcare
Improvement's 100,000 Lives and 5 Million Lives Campaigns.
-- Funding important patient safety initiatives in partnership with
leading national and regional organizations, such as the National
Quality Forum, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and
the Maryland Patient Safety Center.
-- Development of a national poison prevention campaign focused on
medication safety in partnership with SafeKids Worldwide.
About Cardinal Health
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. is an $87 billion, global company serving the health-care industry with products and services that help hospitals, physician offices and pharmacies reduce costs, improve safety, productivity and profitability, and deliver better care to patients. With a focus on making supply chains more efficient, reducing health care-associated infections and breaking the cycle of harmful medication errors, Cardinal Health develops market-leading technologies, including Alaris(R) IV pumps, Pyxis(R) automated dispensing systems, MedMined(TM) electronic infection surveillance service, VIASYS(R) respiratory care products and the CareFusion(TM) patient identification system. The company also manufactures medical and surgical products and is one of the largest distributors of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies worldwide. Ranked No. 19 on the Fortune 500, Cardinal Health employs more than 40,000 people on five continents. More information about the company may be found at http://www.cardinalhealth.com/ .
Cardinal Health, Inc.
