Cardinal Health announces $1 million in grants for patient safety and quality of care improvement

On April 10th, Cardinal Health announced  grants totaling $1 million for new and innovative programs aimed to enhance patient safety and quality of care (Source, "Cardinal Health Awards $1 Million to Fund Patient Safety Initiatives," Cardinal Health, April 10, 2008).  This initiative, which is "the largest and first of its kind given by a health care company," provides grants between $5,000 and $50,000 to 34 hospitals.  Over 700 hospitals submitted applications for this grant opportunity.

Three Ohio hospitals are among the 34 grant recipients: Catholic Health Partners (Cincinnati); Cincinnati Children's Hospital; and Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus).  The focus of the Catholic Health Partners project is to configure a medication use system using Pyxis automation technologies.  The Cincinnati Children's Hospital's project involves partnering with families to improve patient safety, while the Nationwide Children's Hospital initiative focuses on fall prevention in hospitalized children.

Cardinal Health's CEO and Chairman, R. Kerry Clark, explained the importance of this work.  He stated that, “I believe the health care industry can use quality improvements as a strategy to achieve lower costs and provide safer care for our citizens. Fixing health care is not a simple task, but we have it within our control to take simple steps that can have a dramatic effect.”