Cardinal Health Foundation Awards $1 Million in Grants to Improve Health Care Efficiency, Quality

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Forty organizations in 25 states leverage new funding to improve medication and operating room safety, efficiency.
Dublin, Ohio, August 11, 2010 — The Cardinal Health Foundation announced that, for the third consecutive year, it has awarded more than $1 million in grant funding to help U.S. hospitals, health systems and community health clinics improve the efficiency and quality of care.

Forty organizations in 25 states have been awarded grants ranging from $7,500 up to $37,500 as part of the 2010 Cardinal Health Foundation E3 Grant Program, which was launched in 2008 to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and excellence of health care, nationwide.

Since the grant program’s inception, the Cardinal Health Foundation has awarded 108 grants totaling more than $3 million to help hospitals, health systems and clinics implement evidence-based best practices that improve patient safety and the cost effectiveness of health care.

The 2010 E3 Grant Program encouraged applicants to submit funding requests for projects that will either improve medication management or improve efficiency and safety within the operating room. A full list of winners in each category is provided below.

The Cardinal Health Foundation also this year invited E3 Grant Program applicants to apply for scholarships to attend professional development programs hosted by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). As a result, the Cardinal Health Foundation awarded scholarships to help individuals from 37 heath care facilities attend IHI professional development programs that will teach them how to create a culture of safety within their organizations.

“By improving medication and operating room safety and efficiency, health care providers can dramatically reduce health care costs and even more importantly, they can save lives,” said Shelley Bird, executive vice president of public affairs for Cardinal Health and chairperson of the Cardinal Health Foundation. “The Cardinal Health Foundation is proud to support the innovative work of our 2010 E3 Grant Program winners, and we believe their efforts will lead to direct and long-lasting improvements in health care efficiency, cost-effectiveness and quality.”

Organizations that received 2010 E3 Grant Program funding for medication management projects:

  • Antelope Memorial Hospital; Neleigh, Neb.; Computerized Physician Order Entry and Barcode-Enabled Point-of-Care Systems
  • Baptist Health’s Institute for Patient Safety and Medical Simulation; Montgomery, Ala.; The Impact of Error Prevention Technique Testing in a Simulation Laboratory
  • St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center; Phoenix, Ariz.; Simulation for Safe Medication Processes
  • CentraState Healthcare Foundation; Freehold, N.J.; “The White Vest Study” (preventing nurse interruptions while administering medication)
  • Community Health Network Foundation; Indianapolis, Ind.; Improving Medication Reconciliation Practices at Discharge
  • Clovis Medical Center; Fresno, Calif.; Utilization of Pharmacy Technicians in the Medication Reconciliation Process
  • Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems; Brewer, Maine; Reaching Out for Your Safety—FDA Alerts in Primary Care
  • El Rio Community Health Center; Tucson, Ariz.; Improving Medication Safety by Providing Pharmacists with Patient Diagnosis on Electronic Prescription Orders
  • FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital; Pinehurst, N.C.; The Effectiveness of Hourly Rounding on Patient Safety, Satisfaction and Nursing Workload
  • Forsyth Medical Center Foundation; Winston-Salem, N.C.; Safe Med Plus: An Innovative Medication Reconciliation / Patient Safety Program to Reduce Hospital Readmissions
  • Ingham Regional Medical Center; Lansing, Mich.; Care Transitions Initiative
  • Kansas University Endowment Association; Kansas City, Kan.; A Dedicated Pharmacist to Improve Medication Safety and the Quality of the Discharge Process and Decrease Readmissions
  • Lahey Clinic; Burlington, Mass.; Lahey Clinic Medication Reconciliation Partnership  Project
  • Bassett Medical Center; Cooperstown, N.Y.; Anticoagulation Management Service Systems Expansion
  • Natchaug Hospital; Mansfield, Conn.; NetSmart Infoscriber Initiative for Community-based Program EMR
  • National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship; Silver Spring, Md.; Oral Medicine Adherence Education Program
  • Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation; Columbus, Ohio; Reduction of Adverse Drug Events via a Critical Care Collaborative (Phase II)
  • Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center; Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Bedside Medication Administration
  • Paynesville Area Health Care System; Paynesville, Minn.; Bridging Medication Reconciliation Gaps in Our Community
  • Rush University Medical Center; Chicago, Ill.; Care Trans-IT: An Informatics Tool to Facilitate Medication Reconciliation During Care Transitions
  • Mercy Willard Hospital; Willard, Ohio; Pharmacist-Lead Diabetes Management Outpatient/Inpatient Service
  • St. Aloisius Medical Center; Harvey, N.D.; Medication Safety Grant
  • Suburban Hospital; Bethesda, Md.; Dedicated Pharmacist for the Hospitalist Program
  • Cleveland Clinic Foundation; Cleveland, Ohio; Evaluation of Two Patient Education Methods for Patient Knowledge, Clinical Outcomes and Associated Costs in Patients Recently Started on Warfarin
  • Health Care Improvement Foundation; Philadelphia, Pa.; A Regional Demonstration Project to Improve Safe Use of HYDROmorphone
  • The Institute for Family Health; New York, N.Y.; Preventing Medication-Related Birth Defects Using Electronic Health Records
  • Wayne State University; Detroit, Mich.; Comparison of Outpatient Medication Prescription Error Rates in a Pediatric Emergency Department Pre and Post Electronic Medication Error Alert System
  • Wellmont Health System; Kingsport, Tenn.; Pharmacy Technician-Based Medication Reconciliation Program Pilot Study

Organizations that received 2010 E3 Grant Program funding for projects that will improve operating room safety and efficiency:

  • CAMC Institute; Charleston, W.Va.; Vascular Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis Study (VSAPS)
  • Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Cincinnati, Ohio; Developing Procedural Competency through Video-Assisted Assessment of Pediatric Airway Management
  • Grady Health System Foundation; Atlanta, Ga.; Operating Room Safety
  • Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley; Kingston, N.Y.; Operating Room ‘Culture of Safety’ at Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley
  • Holy Spirit Health System; Camp Hill, Pa.; Lean Healthcare: Improving efficiency and patient flow in the Operating Room
  • Johns Hopkins Heath System; Baltimore, Md.; Prevention of Surgical Site Infections Utilizing Intra-Operative Cameras to Improve Operative Practices
  • Memorial Hermann Healthcare System; Houston, Texas; Impact of SSCL Use on Surgical Complications
  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; New York, N.Y.; Multiphase Targeted Intervention to Increase Staff Communication of Patient and Safety Concerns in the Operating Room
  • Rhode Island Hospital; Providence, R.I.; Marking in the Universal Protocol: Enhancing Time-Outs (MUP-ET)
  • Saint Alphonsus Family Maternity Center; Boise, Idaho; Labor & Delivery Universal Surgical Team
  • Saint Peter’s University Hospital; New Brunswick, N.J.; Streamlining the Patient Preoperative Process
  • University of Alabama at Birmingham; Birmingham, Ala.; Perioperative Patient Throughput

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 cardinalhealth.com/community.

About Cardinal Health
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a $99 billion health care services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of health care. As the business behind health care, Cardinal Health helps pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and physician offices focus on patient care while reducing costs, improving efficiency and quality, and increasing profitability. Cardinal Health is an essential link in the health care supply chain, providing pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 60,000 locations each day. The company is also a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products. In addition, the company supports the growing diagnostic industry by supplying medical products to clinical laboratories and operating the nation’s largest network of radiopharmacies that dispense products to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Ranked #17 on the Fortune 500, Cardinal Health employs more than 30,000 people worldwide. More information about the company may be found at cardinalhealth.com.