Cardinal Health Foundation Awards $1 Million to Fund Patient Safety Initiatives

DUBLIN, Ohio, June 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Cardinal Health Foundation today announced it has awarded a total of $1 million in grant funding for new and innovative programs to improve patient safety at 35 hospitals, health systems and community health clinics across the country.

Grants of up to $35,000 per facility will provide funding for programs that implement creative and replicable methods to improve the quality of patient care. Examples of initiatives that received funding include: targeted screening for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), strategies to improve physician hand hygiene, electronic medical record implementation and medication safety and reconciliation projects.

The primary criterion for awarding the grants was that they address the National Quality Forum's priority areas, specifically concentrating on the following areas:

• Eliminating health care associated infections (HAIs), specifically MRSA and C. difficile infection prevention and management, with the goal of reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), surgical site infections (SSI) and blood site infections (BSI) to zero
• Medication safety and reconciliation in forms ranging from prescribing correct medication to ensuring the right medication gets to the right patient at the right time and assuring information is communicated and understood at key transition points

"Medication safety and health care associated infections are two of the largest patient safety issues that health care organizations face every day, and the human toll and financial burden is escalating," said Shelley Bird, chair of the Cardinal Health Foundation. "The Cardinal Health Foundation is committed to improving the overall effectiveness of health care, and we're proud to support these institutions that are enhancing patient safety and the quality of care."

Patient Safety Grant Projects include:

    Name                        Location           Initiative

    Albert Einstein Healthcare  Philadelphia, Pa.  SMASH (Stop MRSA
    Network                                        Acquisition and
                                                   Spread in our Hospitals)

    Arthur G. James Cancer      Columbus, Ohio     Development of a Home
    Hospital and Richard J.                        Medication Documentation
    Solove Institute at The                        Interactive Training
    Ohio State University                          Program: Impact of Using
                                                   Virtual Patient Modules
                                                   to Improve Medication
                                                   Reconciliation

    Aurora Health Care          Milwaukee, Wis.    Targeted vs. Universal
                                                   Screening for MRSA

    Baylor Health Care System   Dallas, Texas      Implementing Strategies
                                                   to Improve Physician Hand
                                                   Hygiene Compliance

    Christian Hospital (member  St. Louis, Mo.     Promoting Antibiotic
    of BJC HealthCare)                             Stewardship at
                                                   Christian Hospital

    Catholic Healthcare West    San Francisco,     Medication Reconciliation
                                 Calif.

    CHRISTUS Spohn Foundation   Corpus Christi,    High Priority Safety
                                 Texas             Program to Eliminate
                                                   Hospital-Acquired
                                                   Surgical Site Infections
                                                   in patients with
                                                   previously diagnosed
                                                   diabetes and in
                                                   undiagnosed patients who
                                                   exhibit high blood
                                                   sugar levels prior to
                                                   surgery

    CMH Regional Health System  Wilmington, Ohio   Improving Patient Safety
                                                   at CMH: Reducing
                                                   Medication Errors Through
                                                   the Use of Technology

    Community Memorial Hospital Oconto Falls, Wis. Enhanced Patient Discharge
                                                   Program

    DCH Regional Medical Center Tuscaloosa, Ala.   Medication Reconciliation
                                                   for Heart Failure Patients

    East Alabama Medical Center Opelika, Ala.      Applying Lean Principles
                                                   to the Reduction of
                                                   Catheter-Associated
                                                   Urinary Tract Infections

    Eastern Maine Medical       Bangor, Maine      Enhancing Patient Safety
    Center                                         through Improved
                                                   Communication (EPIC): A
                                                   Program to Eliminate HAI
                                                   and Medical Errors
                                                   through Improved
                                                   Communication and
                                                   Teamwork in the Surgical
                                                   Unit

    Graceville Health Center    Graceville, Minn.  Implementing an Electronic
                                                   Medical Record (EMR)
                                                   System at Graceville
                                                   Health Center

    Huntington Memorial         Pasadena, Calif.   NICU Ventilator-Acquired
    Hospital                                       Pneumonia Bundle
                                                   Initiative

    Inova Loudon Hospital       Falls Church, Va.  Evaluation of the
                                                   Prevalence of
                                                   Methicillin-Resistant
                                                   Staphylococcus Aureus
                                                   Colonization in Pre-
                                                   surgical Patients and
                                                   Post-Operative Infections

    Lamp Community              Los Angeles,       Medication Management
                                 Calif.            Program

    Lee Memorial Health System  Ft. Myers, Fla.    Implementing an innovative
                                                   system-wide evidenced-
                                                   based Asthma Management
                                                   Program to ensure
                                                   consistent, safe
                                                   medication administration
                                                   and reconciliation
                                                   throughout the continuum
                                                   of care

    MaineHealth                 Portland, Maine    Creating a Standardized,
                                                   System-Level Discharge
                                                   Planning and Medication
                                                   Reconciliation Process

    Medical Center of the       Fort Collins,      Eliminating healthcare-
    Rockies Foundation           Colo.             associated infections at
                                                   Medical Center of the
                                                   Rockies

    Memorial Hospital for       New York, N.Y.     Reducing CDI through
    Cancer and Allied                              Interactive Patient
    Diseases                                       Education

    Meridian Health             Neptune, N.J.      Pharmacist Model of Care
                                                   Demonstration Project

    North Shore Long Island     Great Neck, N.Y.   National Clinical Outcomes
    Jewish Health System, Inc.                     Database in Anesthesiology

    NorthShore University       Evanston, Ill.     Reduction in Catheter-
    HealthSystem                                   Associated Urinary Tract
                                                   Infection Rates Using
                                                   Observation-Education
                                                   Teams and Electronic
                                                   Medical Records

    Ochsner Health System       New Orleans, La.   Improving Safety of
                                                   Handling Breast Milk in
                                                   the Neonatal Intensive
                                                   Care Unit

    Piedmont Hospital           Atlanta, Ga.       Reducing Medication Errors
                                                   through Pharmacist-led
                                                   Reconciliation

    Scripps Whittier Diabetes   La Jolla, Calif.   Systemwide
    Institute                                      Standardization of
                                                   Glycemic Control Protocols

    St. John Hospital and       Detroit, Mich.     Developing a Process to
    Medical Center                                 Reduce Risk of
                                                   Intravascular Catheter-
                                                   Related Infections in the
                                                   Non-intensive Care Units

    St. Joseph Health System -  Eureka, Calif.     SJHS-HC Care Transition
    Humboldt County                                Program's Medication
                                                   Safety and Reconciliation
                                                   Project

    The Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, Neb.        Prevention of Healthcare-
                                                   Associated Infections
                                                   Through Optimized
                                                   Patient Care Environmental
                                                   Cleaning and Disinfection

    UCSF Medical Center         San Francisco,     Spreading Successful
                                 Calif.            Innovation: Improving
                                                   Medication Administration
                                                   Accuracy

    University of Alabama at    Birmingham, Ala.   Comparison of
    Birmingham Hospital                            Chlorhexidine Rinse,
                                                   Commercially Available
                                                   Oral Care Kit, and
                                                   Standard MICU Oral Care
                                                   in the Reduction of VAP

    University of Virginia      Charlottesville,   Randomized controlled
    Health System                Va.               trial of Hand Hygiene
                                                   plus Gloving for the
                                                   Prevention of Invasive
                                                   Infections in Preterm
                                                   Infants

    Virginia Commonwealth       Richmond, Va.      Safety First, Every Day
    University Health System

    Virginia Mason Medical      Seattle, Wash.     Optimizing Care
    Center                                         Transitions through
                                                   Medication Reconciliation

    Wesley Medical Center       Wichita, Kan.      Electronic Patient Triage
                                                   Development and
                                                   Implementation Involving
                                                   Nurse, Pharmacy
                                                   Technician, and Pharmacist
                                                   Obtained Medication
                                                   Histories in the
                                                   Emergency Department and
                                                   Impact on Medication
                                                   Reconciliation

About the Cardinal Health Foundation

The Cardinal Health Foundation supports local, national and international programs that improve health care quality and build healthy communities. The Cardinal Health Foundation also offers grants to encourage employee service to the community and works through international agencies to donate much-needed medical supplies and funding to those who need them in times of disaster. To learn more, visit www.CardinalHealth.com/community.

SOURCE Cardinal Health, Inc.