What follows is a comprehensive listing of all nominated
hospital programs. These programs have been grouped into five core
categories:
Being named the most obese and unhealthy community in the United
States is a wake-up call for anyone in the so-named community. For
a hospital in that community it's a call to action.
The UpClose Cardiac Surgery Program was established in 2003 to
educate 7th grade students about the importance of
establishing heart-healthy habits early in life. Participants are
provided the opportunity to understand how certain unhealthy
behaviors lead to heart disease, and they witness, firsthand, the
consequences of such unhealthy behaviors by viewing heart
surgery.
The Mom Project was created to address the large number of women
from the rural Big Bear Valley area of California who were
presenting to give birth in the hospital emergency department with
little or no prenatal care. Obstetric and gynecologic care and free
child birthing classes are offered to help ensure that babies are
born safe and healthy. Lactation classes, car seat safety
workshops, parenting support groups, immunization workshops, and
case management are also offered through the program.
The Borgess Center for Diabetes Care is the only full-service
diabetes treatment program in the Kalamazoo, Michigan service
region with a component to serve low income uninsured or
underinsured patients with diabetes. The goals of the center are to
provide high quality care and educational services, to enhance
patients' ability to self-manage, and to reduce emergency
department use for non-emergent care needs.
The Healthy You program was created to address the wellness
needs of small-town residents in Aroostook County, Maine, where
various barriers to obtaining wellness services had helped lead to
an excessive death rate from coronary disease, a 32% obesity rate,
and high incidence rates of adult diabetes, hypertension, asthma,
substance abuse, and suicide per capita, compared with other areas
of Maine and the nation. The program is an informative and engaging
free community health program designed to promote overall wellbeing
for all residents through screenings, workshops, exercise classes,
contests, and many more programs and activities.
The infant mortality rate in Detroit is a startling 14.9 per
1,000 live births, which is twice the national average and
comparable to rates in some developing countries. Even more
troubling, it is double among African Americans, compared with
Caucasians, according to the Michigan Department of Community
Health.
Diane Patterson, Director of the Children's Village in Yakima,
Washington, fondly recalls a young boy with special needs who once
was a client at the Village, and who now - as a young man - is an
opera singer, performing regularly on stage for fans who come to
hear his voice.
The Senior Clinic in Battle Creek, Michigan, started as a pilot
project designed to test the ability to improve the health metrics
of targeted low-income seniors through increased access to medical
professionals and information. Through the program, residents at a
low-income senior housing complex are provided access to weekly
nursing visits, physical and social assessments, and referrals as
necessary. The program also includes a quarterly health fair and
enrollment in applicable programs.
Healthy Beginnings was established to serve socially at-risk
women during their pregnancies to help them adopt healthy
lifestyles, thereby improving outcomes in terms of infant mortality
and birth weight. Each year the program reaches approximately 150
women in the Kansas City area who are in need of support services
due to a variety of circumstances, such as mental impairment, loss
of a job or insurance, domestic violence, or lack of social or
familial support.
The primary goal of LEAP is to address the health education
needs of low-income residents in the Lima, Ohio area who have
diabetes. The program aims to prevent life-threatening
complications of diabetes. The "neighborhood nurses" who provide
the services target at-risk areas, such as low-income underserved
African American neighborhoods. Since the program's inception, more
than 560 patients have participated, and only one leg amputation -
as a result of surgical complications - has occurred. One patient
who had two toes amputated likely would have required full leg
amputation if not for LEAP services.
The Sterling community in Greenville, S.C., was once a thriving
neighborhood and a vigorous center of African-American life. Thanks
to the efforts of Bon Secours St. Francis Health System's Healthy
Community Initiative, which is working in partnership with
community residents, the neighborhood is making its way back after
years of deterioration.
Baptist Operation Outreach is a mobile health care unit designed
to address the primary care needs of the homeless in Memphis,
Tennessee. The program provides acute and primary care, disease
prevention information, screenings, and guidance for those without
permanent housing. Health and development assessment and
immunizations are also provided for children.
The pastor at the Cape May, New Jersey church was stunned one
week, when "Helen" rose from the pew and, without her walker, made
her way to the serving table to receive Holy Communion.
Dixie Regional's Physician Referral Program was created to
connect patients with healthcare providers. The program has been
especially helpful for Medicare and Medicaid patients, who make up
64% of Dixie Regional's payer mix, and who often have difficulty
finding physicians willing to accept Medicare and Medicaid
patients.
The Community Wellness Program, a prevention-focused program
that works to provide community members with the knowledge,
understanding, support and follow-up they need to become proactive
in their health and to successfully manage or reduce their
chances of obtaining a preventable chronic condition.
When a parent support group served by an outreach program more
than 25 years ago still meets on a monthly basis, and when more
than half of the 350 volunteers who form the foundation of the
program are former program participants themselves, the program
must be doing something right.
The Aspirus Community Partnership Fund is a collaboration
between Aspirus Wausau Hospital and Women's Community, Inc. - a
private nonprofit organization that provides specialized services
to people in north and central Wisconsin who are affected by
domestic violence, sexual assault and unemployment. Together, the
organizations have developed a number of programs, such as the
Aspirus Women's Care Suite at the hospital's emergency department,
a women's shelter adjacent to the hospital, and a community-side
education program to prevent sexual and physical abuse of women and
children.
The Brooks Clubhouse in Jacksonville is designed to address the
unique long-term needs of patients who have suffered traumatic or
non-traumatic brain injury. These patients often need support to
return to competitive employment and to a life that feels
productive. As "members," participants receive vocational
training and rehabilitation in a setting centered around a
work-ordered day.
Outdoor Adventures is a year-round therapeutic recreation
program for individuals with various types of disabilities. As part
of a medically directed rehabilitation continuum of care, a range
of activities, such as water- and snow-skiing and group sports, are
offered with the goal of changing participants' perspective. The
program serves as a resource as patients leave the clinical
setting.
The Clark Memorial Hospital Men's Health Fair and Car Show is an
annual event in Jeffersonville, Indiana to increase awareness among
men and their families about the importance of prevention and early
detection of disease and chronic conditions. The Health Fair is
held in conjunction with a car show to encourage attendance among
men, who typically do not seek preventive health screenings.
It's not uncommon for a large, industrial community like Toledo
to have a significant population of uninsured. However, having a
hospital immediately leap to action following a community call from
the mayor, sets the stage for the kind of program Mercy St. Vincent
helped launch.
Banner's School-Based Health Centers seek to improve the health
and well-being of uninsured and underinsured school-aged children
in three local school districts, representing more than 150
schools. The community-driven clinics provide preventative and
acute health services to thousands of children from underserved
populations.
Low income patients with diabetes or heart failure who don't
meet the criteria for home health care can be at particularly high
risk of complications and poor outcomes, but those living in the
community served by Sentara Obici Community Hospital have a
distinct advantage: The Community Health Outreach Program.
The CareAdvisor program was designed to address the issue of
uninsured patients with chronic illnesses who were using the
Emergency Room at Baptist Medical Center South for their medical
home. Such patients are invited to join the CareAdvisor program,
which aims to improve their quality of care and quality of life.
Participants have access to medical care through a family practice
medicine residency program, as well as access to a case manager and
a nurse 24-hours per day.
Northeast Georgia Medical Center's primary mission is to improve
the health of the communities it serves, and through its support
of, and collaboration with, these two unique programs that aim to
improve healthcare access for indigent patients, the Medical Center
is fulfilling that mission.