Los Angeles, CA – The Hospital Association of Southern California (HASC) and Patient Safety First…A California Partnership for Health have received national recognition for improving quality and patient safety. The National Quality Forum (NQF) and The Joint Commission announced the 2013 recipients of the annual John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards. The award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality at the National Level went to Patient Safety First…a California Partnership for Health, a collaborative of Anthem Blue Cross, National Health Foundation, HASC, Hospital Association of San Diego & Imperial Counties, and the Hospital Council of Northern & Central California.

The goals of the Patient Safety First…a California Partnership for Health initiative included driving improvement in perinatal care, sepsis, and hospital acquired infections. The initiative leveraged peer‐to‐peer regional learning networks to accelerate adoption of best practices and strategies for improvement. Phase one results showed that 182 hospitals were engaged, and more than 3,500 lives and $63 million have been saved. Building upon phase one successes, Anthem Blue Cross invested another $1.8 million to roll out phase two of the collaborative in 2013.

“We are honored to receive this national recognition,” said Julia Slininger, HASC Vice President of Quality & Patient Safety, “but it is our member hospitals who should really be congratulated for all the progress they have made and will continue to make in California’s Patient Safety First Collaborative.”

The 2013 winners represent numerous achievements in the field of patient safety and quality, including: prevention of more than 5,400 readmissions; system-wide engagement to reduce medical errors; an adverse patient-safety event that catalyzed an important and successful quality transformation; and an individual’s lifetime achievement in the field of patient safety and quality.

The other honorees for national, local-level, and individual recognition are: Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality at the National Level – Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, Bloomington, MN, Minnesota Hospital Association, St. Paul, MN, and Stratis Health, Bloomington, MN; Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality at the Local Level – Vidant Health, Greenville, NC; and Individual Achievement – Gail L. Warden, President Emeritus of Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI.

The patient safety awards program (http://www.qualityforum.org/eisenberg_award), launched in 2002 by NQF and The Joint Commission, honors John M. Eisenberg, MD, MBA, former administrator of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

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