10 Hospital Programs Receive National Award for Impacting Underserved Communities

ATLANTA, Feb. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ten hospital-sponsored community health programs have been recognized for their innovative approaches to impacting lives in local communities around the nation. Each awardee receives $10,000 through the Hospital Charitable Services Awards, a national program sponsored by Atlanta-based Jackson Healthcare.

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This year's community health programs spanned small-to-large cities throughout the nation. The ten "Programs of Excellence" included:

• Becker County Energize Mental Wellness Collaborative (Detroit Lakes, Minnesota) Through this initiative, Essentia Health St. Mary's and community partners work together to support, develop and sustain community health.
• "By Your Side" Patient Assistance Program (Tulsa, Oklahoma) Parkside Psychiatric Hospital and Clinic created this program to provide patients with mental illness, as well as their families, access to a food pantry, books, clothing and transportation.
• Get Onboard Active Living (G.O.A.L.) (Bloomington, Indiana) Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital created G.O.A.L. to be a free, family-focused, community approach to decreasing childhood obesity.
• Hallmark Health System North Suburban WIC (Women, Infants & Children) Program's Mobile Food Market (Medford, Massachusetts) This program brings together the health system with area civic and community agencies to address food insecurity for low-income families.
• It's a Girl Thing, Making Proud Choices (Farmerville, Louisiana) Union General Hospital's program successfully engages sixth-to-eighth-grade girls in an effort to tackle the self-esteem and mental health challenges that lead to life-changing choices.
• KidSTART (San Diego, California) Rady Children's Hospital San Diego launched this program to serve children with complex, chronic special needs, including trauma-related and autism spectrum disorders.
• Northern Utah HOPE (NUHOPE) Suicide Prevention Program (Ogden, Utah) McKay-Dee Hospital's unique program has raised awareness and prevention in their community in ways that continue to save lives.
• Roseland Community Initiative (Chicago, Illinois) Through Roseland Community Hospital, this initiative has helped more than 10,000 children control their asthma with minimal interruption to their school day.
• Strong Beginnings – Healthy Start (Grand Rapids, Michigan) This Spectrum Health program improves maternal and infant health for low-income women.
• Violence Intervention Program (VIP) (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Through this program, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) assists youth through medical and emotional support, in addition to providing mentoring, school advocacy, housing, food insecurity and substance abuse prevention.

The ten winning programs were selected from a pool of 26 finalists. Each had to demonstrate excellence in community impact, innovation, collaboration, leading practices and replicability.

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In addition to the ten Programs of Excellence, five hospital programs were recognized as Programs of Promise. Each will receive $2,500 toward their growth and operations.

These up-and-coming programs included:

• Adena Centering Pregnancy & Baby Centered Recovery (Chillicothe, Ohio) This Adena Health System program provides support and education to pregnant women who are experiencing addiction issues.
• Bounce Back — Promoting Health Through Happiness (Buffalo, Minnesota) A program of Buffalo Hospital/Allina Health, this is a unique collaborative of physicians, nurses, hospital leaders, and staff who have come together to promote a healthy work-life balance.
• Easy Breathing for Schools (Hartford, Connecticut) This school nurse-centered asthma program, sponsored by Connecticut Children's Medical Center, is designed to identify students at risk for adverse outcomes associated with absenteeism and equip school nurses with tools to better manage these students.
• Ebeid Institute for Population Health (Toledo, Ohio) Through this institute, ProMedica is dedicated to increasing access to healthy food, delivering nutritional education and providing job training opportunities.
• Wellness Without Walls (Memphis, Tennessee) The goals of this Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare initiative are to provide health screenings, education and appropriate referrals to the 38109 community.

Jackson Healthcare instituted the Hospital Charitable Services Awards in 2010 to identify high-impact community health programs, share their stories and offer them as models for other communities to replicate. To date, seventy programs have been awarded for their excellence in impacting local communities.

About Jackson Healthcare 

Jackson Healthcare is built on a simple idea — that talented professionals with a shared purpose can improve the lives of patients, families and communities. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company has risen to a place of prominence among the largest healthcare staffing and technology companies in the U.S. It currently serves more than seven million patients in over 1,300 healthcare facilities.

In addition to serving health systems and providers, Jackson champions local, national and international charitable work. It founded and sponsors the Hospital Charitable Service Awards, which honors programs that set new standards for health and wellness in their communities through education, access and delivery. Atlanta Business Chronicle named Jackson Healthcare the city's "Best Place to Work" in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and "Healthiest Large Company" in 2015.

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SOURCE Jackson Healthcare