PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The Delaware Valley Healthcare Council (DVHC) and Independence Blue Cross today announced the launch of the Partnership for Patient Care, a three-year initiative to enhance patient care at the region's hospitals.
Independence Blue Cross will contribute up to $1.25 million to support the innovative effort designed to improve patient safety at all hospitals in southeastern Pennsylvania. The work will initially focus on identifying and implementing processes that will help reduce hospital-acquired infections.
"I want to commend IBC, our region's primary health insurer, for once again demonstrating its commitment to partnering with hospitals on what is our shared number one concern: patient safety," said Andrew B. Wigglesworth, President of the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council. "Hospitals in the region are already among the best; this program will make them even safer."
Independence Blue Cross and the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council previously worked together to create the successful regional medication safety program for hospitals, which demonstrated that collaboration can achieve proven results.
"Independence Blue Cross is dedicated to the health of our members and this region, and we are pleased to join with local hospitals on this groundbreaking effort," Independence Blue Cross President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph A. Frick said. "We believe strongly that the Partnership for Patient Care will be a model for other areas of Pennsylvania and the country to address the critical issue of hospital-acquired infections."
The Partnership for Patient Care projects supported by the grant will initially focus on preventing hospital-acquired infections. They will promote the use of "best practices," also known as "evidence-based medicine," to improve the quality and safety of health care at the region's hospitals. ECRI, a nonprofit research agency widely recognized for its efforts to improve the quality of care, will assist in the effort.
The Partnership for Patient Care will identify and recommend changes in clinical practice that can be implemented at all hospitals in the region. Many of these changes have been identified by numerous regulatory, accrediting and safety agencies, such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the National Quality Forum. The Partnership will provide area hospitals with the tools and resources to more rapidly implement these important quality standard recommendations in a coordinated manner.
The grant marks a continuation of Independence Blue Cross's involvement with DVHC in an ongoing, successful patient safety initiative. In 2003, IBC gave $750,000 to support a regional effort to improve medication safety at area hospitals. Managed by DVHC's Health Care Improvement Foundation (HCIF), the Regional Medication Safety Program for Hospitals became a nationally recognized model for enhancing the quality of patient care. A report issued earlier this year found that the region's hospitals demonstrated an aggregate 22 percent improvement in meeting the program's patient safety action goals.
"We anticipate the Partnership for Patient Care - like the Regional Medication Safety Program for Hospitals before it - will become a national model. The program will provide tools and resources to help hospitals and health systems more rapidly implement best practices to enhance the quality of care in the Delaware Valley," Wigglesworth said.
Independence Blue Cross will give a grant for $750,000 to the Council's Health Care Improvement Foundation in the first year of the program. The company will provide matching funds up to $250,000 in the second and third years of the initiative.
About the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council
The Delaware Valley Healthcare Council is a membership organization representing more than 150 healthcare organizations in Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and northern Delaware. Its mission is to assist member organizations to improve the health status of their communities and to exercise leadership in the appropriate restructuring of the regional healthcare delivery system through advocacy, information and education in the public interest. Its website is located at: http://www.dvhc.org
About the Health Care Improvement Foundation
The Health Care Improvement Foundation (http://www.dvhc.org/hcif) is a nonprofit foundation and a strategic affiliate of the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council. Its mission is to support innovative efforts to improve health services as well as enhance public trust and confidence in the region's healthcare delivery system through the promotion of best practices in community health and patient safety in the Delaware Valley.
About Independence Blue Cross
Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurer in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Nationwide, Independence Blue Cross and its affiliates provide coverage to nearly 3.4 million people. For more than 65 years, Independence Blue Cross has offered quality health care products and services tailored to meet the changing needs of members, employers, groups and providers. This year, Independence Blue Cross's Personal Choice was rated the No. 1 PPO in the nation and its Keystone HMO was ranked as the No. 1 HMO in the region by health care consumers in a leading independent consumer magazine. For more information, visit http://www.ibx.com
About ECRI
ECRI (http://www.ecri.org) is an independent, non-profit health services research agency that focuses on improving the safety, quality and cost effectiveness of health care. It is designated as an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and is a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Independence Blue Cross and Delaware Valley Healthcare CouncilCONTACT: Carol Lynn Daly of Delaware Valley Healthcare Council,+1-215-735-3266; or Liz Williams of Independence Blue Cross,+1-215-241-2220
