Sharp Transitions Awarded $100,000 2019 Hearst Health Prize for Its Outstanding Home-Based Palliative Care Program

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From left to right: Gregory Dorn, MD, MPH; David Nash, MD, MBA; Daniel Hoefer, MD; Suzi Johnson, MPH, RN. (Photo: Business Wire)

The award was announced by Gregory Dorn, MD, MPH, president of Hearst Health, and David B. Nash, MD, MBA, dean of the Jefferson College of Population Health, at the 19^th annual Population Health Colloquium in Philadelphia.

“On behalf of the Sharp Transitions program, it is an honor to receive this award,” said Vice President of Sharp Hospice and Palliative Care Suzi K. Johnson, MPH, RN. “Providing proactive, team-based, comprehensive care management in a home-based setting is the future of healthcare for patients with serious illness. Our team is dedicated to caring for our patients to achieve better outcomes and improve their quality of life.”

Sharp Transitions, part of Sharp HealthCare in San Diego, provides home-based palliative care for patients with advanced and progressive chronic illness but who are not ready for hospice care. Bringing care to the patients and their families improves quality of life for the entire family. The impact of the Transitions program has resulted in a significant decrease in inpatient hospital mortality; emergency department visits and hospitalizations; and reduced healthcare costs for patients with cancer, COPD, heart failure and dementia. [Watch Video]

“We are proud to present the Hearst Health Prize to Sharp Transitions in honor of its proven palliative care program, which has made a wonderful impact on the quality of life of patients and their families in the local community,” Dorn said. “The Transitions program serves as a leading example for population health programs across the country because it provides personalized, patient-centered care for those fighting their chronic illness.”

Hearst Health Prize applications were evaluated by Jefferson College of Population Health faculty and a distinguished panel of judges. The applications were scored based on the program’s population health impact or outcome demonstrated by measurable improvement; use of evidence-based interventions and best practices to improve the quality of care; promotion of communication, collaboration and engagement; scalability and sustainability; and innovation. Sharp Transitions was the highest scoring in these criteria.

“We are thrilled to recognize Sharp Transitions for improving the quality of life for patients with chronic illnesses and their families,” Nash said. “Sharp’s commitment to population health is demonstrated not only by its proactive care and patient education, but by the reduced financial burden of healthcare costs typically associated with the treatment of life-limiting conditions.”

In addition to the $100,000 award for the winner, $25,000 awards were given to two competition finalists:

• Arkansas SAVES (AR SAVES): Administered by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in partnership with the state’s Medicaid agency, AR SAVES provides real-time, interactive neurological consultation through its telestroke platform in rural and medically underserved areas across the state. Patients are primarily treated with alteplase, a clot-dissolving medication used to improve neurological recovery and reduce incidence of death and disability, before being transferred to a tertiary hospital for monitoring. In 2017, at three months nearly 70 percent of AR SAVES patients made a full recovery or recovery with slight issues from stroke. [Watch Video]
• Mental health Outreach for MotherS (MOMS) Partnership®: Emerging from the Yale School of Medicine, the Mental health Outreach for MotherS (MOMS) Partnership® interrupts intergenerational poverty by improving the mental health of overburdened and under-resourced mothers. The program meets mothers where they are in the community at grocery stores, after-school programs and community centers and provides mental health services paired with incentives that meet their basic health needs, such as diapers, feminine hygiene products and paper products. After participating in the program, 75 percent of mothers experienced a decrease in depression and a 67 percent decrease in parenting stress. [Watch Video]

About the Hearst Health Prize

The Hearst Health Prize is an annual $100,000 award honoring outstanding achievement in improving population health in the U.S., funded by Hearst Health and administered by the Jefferson College of Population Health. One winner is awarded $100,000 and up to two finalists each receive $25,000. The Hearst Health Prize provides a national platform to showcase successful programs and to proliferate best practices more rapidly. For additional information about the Hearst Health Prize, please visit www.jefferson.edu/HearstHealthPrize.

About Hearst Health

The mission of Hearst Health is to help guide the most important care moments by delivering vital information into the hands of everyone who touches a person’s health journey. Each year in the U.S., care guidance from Hearst Health reaches 85 percent of discharged patients, 205 million insured individuals, 77 million home health visits and 3.2 billion dispensed prescriptions. The Hearst Health network includes FDB (First Databank), Zynx Health, MCG, Homecare Homebase, MHK (formerly MedHOK—Medical House of Knowledge) and Hearst Health Ventures (www.hearsthealth.com). Hearst also holds a minority interest in the precision medicine and oncology analytics company M2Gen.

Follow Hearst Health on Twitter @HearstHealth or LinkedIn @Hearst-Health.

About the Jefferson College of Population Health

Established in 2008, JCPH is part of Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University), a leader in interdisciplinary, professional education, and home of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce. JCPH is dedicated to exploring the policies and forces that define the health and well-being of populations. Its mission is to prepare leaders with global vision to examine the social determinants of health and to evaluate, develop and implement health policies and systems that will improve the health of populations and thereby enhance the quality of life. JCPH provides exemplary graduate academic programming in population health, public health, health policy, healthcare quality and safety, and applied health economics and outcomes research. Its educational offerings are enhanced by research, publications and continuing education and professional development offerings in these areas.

Follow JCPH on Twitter @JeffersonJCPH or LinkedIn @Jefferson College of Population Health.

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