For the second year in a row, the Cardinal Health Foundation will award more than $1 million in funding to help U.S. hospitals, health systems and community health clinics improve patient safety and healthcare quality.
The Dublin, Ohio-based healthcare IT vendor 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 programs at 34 hospitals, health systems and clinics.
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 and improve medication safety.
"We believe that by taking a zero tolerance approach to medical errors, we can dramatically improve healthcare quality while also removing considerable, avoidable costs from the healthcare system," said R. Kerry Clark, chairman and CEO of Cardinal Health. "The goal of the Patient Safety Grant Program is to encourage healthcare leaders to take immediate action to implement collaborative, long-term, results-oriented initiatives to eliminate medication errors and preventable infections."
Clark said that grant applicants should 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 and demonstrate how the applicant's organization is financially invested in the program, through operating support or in-kind contributions of time and materials.
He also indicated that institutions should incorporate nationally determined best practices into their proposals, focus on collaboration and develop programs that can be replicated and sustained at other organizations.
The Cardinal Health Foundation requires that grant applicants address at least one of the National Quality Forum's seven priority areas: patient and family engagement, population health, safety, palliative care, care coordination, patient-focused care and overuse.
To be eligible for funding, grant applicants must be designated as 501(c)(3) by the Internal Revenue Service and submit a letter of intent by Oct. 31, 2008. Full proposals, for those selected to apply, will be due Feb. 20, 2009, and Cardinal Health will announce and award the grants in Spring 2009.