Cardinal Health Invites Health Care Providers To Apply For $1 Million In Grants To Fund Patient Safety Initiatives

The Cardinal Health Foundation today announced that for the second year, it will award more than $1 million in funding to help U.S. hospitals, health systems and community health clinics improve patie
The Cardinal Health Foundation today announced that for the second year, it will award more than $1 million in funding to help U.S. hospitals, health systems and community health clinics improve patient safety and health care quality.

Cardinal Health launched its Patient Safety Grant Program in August 2007 as the first and largest fund of its kind in the private sector and received applications from more than 10 percent of U.S. hospitals. In the program’s inaugural year, the company awarded grants totaling $1 million to new and innovative programs at 34 hospitals, health systems and clinics, nationwide.

Again this year, the Cardinal Health Foundation plans to award grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to programs that improve the quality and safety of patient care, with priority consideration being given to programs that reduce hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and improve medication safety.

“We believe that by taking a zero tolerance approach to medical errors, we can dramatically improve health care quality while also removing considerable, avoidable costs from the health care system,” said R. Kerry Clark, chairman and chief executive officer of Cardinal Health. “The goal of the Patient Safety Grant Program is to encourage health care leaders to take immediate action to implement collaborative, long-term, results-oriented initiatives to eliminate medication errors and preventable infections.”

Applicants are encouraged to:

* Clearly identify the high-priority safety issue that the program will address;
* Secure significant involvement and support from the applicant organization’s senior-most leadership;
* Demonstrate how the applicant’s organization is financially invested in the program, through operating support or in-kind contributions of time and materials;
* Incorporate nationally determined best practices into their proposals;
* Focus on collaboration by involving multiple groups within the applicant’s organization, its community and other health care organizations;
* Include clear measures to assure that improvements can be sustained over time;
* Develop programs that can be replicated at other organizations; and
* Address at least one of the National Quality Forum’s seven priority areas, which include: patient and family engagement, population health, safety, palliative care, care coordination, patient-focused care and overuse. More information about the seven priority areas can be found at: http://www.qualityforum.org/about/NPP/assets/NPP_Goals_07_03_08.pdf

To be eligible for funding, facilities must be designated as 501(c)(3) by the Internal Revenue Service and submit a letter of intent by Oct. 31, 2008, at www.CardinalHealth.com/community. Full proposals, for those selected to apply, will be due Feb. 20, 2009 and grants will be announced and awarded in Spring 2009.