Ten healthcare programs were awarded for their charitable community service at the Hospital Charitable Service Conference in Atlanta on Monday.
The Hospital Charitable Service Awards, a new program sponsored by Jackson Healthcare, honors hospitals whose charitable commitment promotes health and wellness in the local and global hospital community.
The 10 award winners were selected from 197 nominees. Each nominee had to demonstrate excellence in at least one of five criteria areas: community impact, innovation, collaboration, transferability and best practice.
“The special ingredient we are looking for through this awards program are hospital-sponsored charitable initiatives that improve a community in a measurable way,” said Keith Jennings of Jackson Healthcare’s corporate communications office. “Hospital programs historically provide outstanding charitable service in their community, and a community of results-oriented hospital programs is emerging that apply evidence-based best practices and data-driven decision making to their charitable activities.”
Winners were named “Programs of Excellence” and received a $10,000 investment toward their growth. Award winners are:
- ARCHES Project, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Philadelphia. Featuring education, advocacy and screening, the program works to serve community residents who experience the greatest disparities in health status and access.
- CARE Maternal/Child Health Clinic, Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Boise, Idaho. To meet medical and cultural needs of the area’s refugee community, the clinic provides prenatal, pediatric and primary medical care and enhances communication with healthcare providers.
- CFI Lexington Community Fitness Initiative, Lexington Regional Health Center, Lexington, Nebr. Focusing on children in kindergarten though fifth grade, the initiative teaches nutrition and exercise and fosters positive lifestyle changes.
- Diabeticos Saludables (Healthy Diabetics), Memorial Hospital of South Bend, South Bend, Ind. Case managers help “hard-to-reach” diabetics of diverse backgrounds get treatment and learn about their disease.
- Forensic Nurse Examiner Program, St. Mary’s Hospital, Richmond, Va. Specially trained nurses serve victims of sexual or physical abuse, from the time a crime is reported through its prosecution, with well-focused continuity of care.
- Healthier Laramie County, Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, Cheyenne, Wyo. By providing medical care, medications and dental services, the program benefits people who have little or no access to healthcare.
- Homeless Initiative, Cook Children’s Healthcare System, Fort Worth, Texas. The initiative assists homeless people by furnishing healthcare and education to strengthen patients’ health and allow them to emerge from a cycle of illness on the streets.
- Memorial FIT Kids Program, Memorial Healthcare, Owosso, Mich. Teaching lessons about food and exercise, the program works to instill good habits with children before problems develop.
- The Breathmobile Program: LAC + USC Pediatric Asthma Disease Management Program (PADMAP), Los Angeles County & University of Southern California Healthcare Network, Los Angeles. Four mobile asthma clinics bring much-needed regular treatment to low-income children who can’t afford doctors and medicine.
- The Concussion Program, Children’s Hospital of Colorado, Aurora, Colo. By training coaches and parents to recognize signs of concussion, the program reduces the risk that student athletes will get injured again while a head injury is healing.
“The awards program’s objective is to develop an initiative that will create a community of charitable hospitals – hospitals that want to do more, that want to encourage each other, that want to learn from each other and really establish best practices in terms of charitable service and service to the community,” said Jennings.