PRESS RELEASE

Contact:
Jason Sanford, Director of Communications
Health Policy Institute of Ohio
(614) 224-4950, ext. 302

Winners Announced for the 2007 Health Policy Institute of Ohio Awards for Health Policy Research

The 2007 winners of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio Awards for Health Policy Research have been announced. The winners--Dr. Lisa Simpson, Dr. Jeffrey A. Bridge, Ellen Yard, and Dee Roth--were chosen as Ohio’s best researchers for their work on research relevant to health policy issues in the state.

“The winners of this year's awards provide us with new, innovative perspectives on how health policy research can directly impact health policy issues in Ohio,” said William Hayes, President of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. “This isn't research for research's sake. This is research which directly improves the health and well being of all Ohioans."

The winners will be honored at a luncheon at the 2007 Ohio Health Data and Research Conference held on December 13 and 14 in Columbus.

About the winners:

• Dr. Lisa Simpson of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center won the 2007 Ohio Health Policy Researcher of the Year for her paper "Reauthorizing SCHIP: Opportunities for Promoting Effective Health Coverage and High-Quality Care for Children and Adolescent." The paper was published by the Commonwealth Fund.
  
  
• Dr. Jeffrey A. Bridge of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital won the 2007 Ohio Health Policy Research Award for his paper "Clinical Response and Risk for Reported Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts in Pediatric Antidepressant Treatment: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials." The paper was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
  
  
• Ellen Yard of the Ohio State University College of Public Health won the 2007 Best Ohio Health Policy Student Research Award for her paper "An Epidemiologic Comparison of Injuries Presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department and Local Urgent Care Facilities."
  
  
• Dee Roth of the Ohio Department of Mental Health won the 2007 Best Health Policy Research Award for an Independent Scholar or Practitioner for the publication New Research in Mental Health: 2004-2005 Biennium, Volume 17.

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio Awards for Health Policy Research are given out each year to honor outstanding research carried out by Ohio-based researchers that is relevant to health policy in the state. All winners and winning institutions receive a monetary award for their work (if their institution rules allow such an financial award).

The 2007 awards are funded by a grant from the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati. The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati is an independent 501(c)(4) social welfare organization dedicated to improving community health. The foundation awards grants to non-profit and governmental organizations for programs and activities that improve health in Cincinnati and 20 surrounding counties in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio.

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio is an independent, nonpartisan organization that will forecast health trends, analyze key health issues, and communicate current research to Ohio policymakers, state agencies, and other decision makers. For more information on the Institute, call (614) 224-4950 or go to http://www.healthpolicyohio.org.

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