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Nurses for Newborns Foundation Recognized By Federal Government for Improving the Health of Special Needs Babies

Posted on: Wednesday, 16 July 2008, 15:01 CDT

The St. Louis-based Nurses for Newborns Foundation (NFNF) Bridge to the Future program has been recognized by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for its work to improve the health of special needs babies.

Bridge to the Future received recognition from AHRQ's Health Care Innovations Exchange, a program intended to accelerate the development and adoption of innovations in healthcare delivery. The Innovation Exchange works to improve safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency and equity of care, with a particular emphasis on reducing disparities in healthcare and health among racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. An Innovation Exchange profile of the Bridge to the Future program is available at www.innovations.ahrq.gov.

The "Bridge to the Future" program provides nurse home visits to low-income families with medically fragile infants who have been discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit, thus ensuring a smooth transition to long-term care in the home. Specially trained nurses proactively identify potential problems in the home and provide intensive training and support to parents of very low birth weight or special needs infants. Infants served by the program are less likely to experience readmissions, inappropriate emergency department visits, child abuse, and placement in a foster home, and are more likely to have up-to-date immunizations and access to medical resources.

Bridge to the Future was also honored in January by the Premier healthcare alliance with the 16th Annual Monroe E. Trout Premier Cares Award for its work to prevent infant mortality, child abuse and neglect through in-home nursing visits. Please visit the following for a video Cares Award profile: www.premierinc.com/about/mission/social-responsibility/cares/ cares-07.jsp.(Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.) Premier is accepting applications for the 17th Annual Cares Award through July 31. To apply, please visit www.premierinc.com/caresaward.

Additional NFNF recognition includes:

-- The Crystal Wagon Award from Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, part of Premier alliance member SSM Health Care, awarded in January. The Crystal Wagon is the highest honor bestowed by the hospital and is presented annually for advocacy on behalf of children.

-- The Coro Community Leadership Award, presented to Sharon Rohrbach, RN, NFNF founder and CEO, as an engaged, responsible citizen and effective civic leader.

"We are very grateful for the overwhelming recognition and support of our Bridge to the Future program," said Rohrbach. "We sincerely hope to replicate this program nationally for the purpose of preventing infant mortality, child abuse and neglect among our nation's most vulnerable infants."

Since 1991, NFNF (www.nfnf.org) has provided healthcare, education and parenting skills through cost-free programs to medically fragile newborns, teen parents, mothers challenged with mental limitations, and parents who are underinsured or have limited resources or access to healthcare. More than 15,500 nurse home visits are provided by NFNF annually.

About Premier Inc., 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient

Serving more than 2,000 U.S. hospitals and 53,000-plus other healthcare sites, the Premier healthcare alliance and its members are transforming healthcare together. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier operates one of the leading healthcare purchasing networks and the nation's most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and financial information. A subsidiary operates one of the nation's largest policy-holder owned, hospital professional liability risk-retention groups. A world leader in helping healthcare providers deliver dramatic improvements in care, Premier is working with the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Washington. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.

About the Premier Cares Award

Premier has presented the Cares Award annually since 1992, when it was created by Dr. Monroe E. Trout, former CEO of American Healthcare Systems, one of Premier's heritage organizations. The Cares Award winner receives a cash grant of at least $70,000, while five runners-up receive smaller awards. The competition is open to non-profit organizations that have been in existence for more than two years, are providing creative solutions to health status improvement, can provide documentation of outcomes and impact on a specific population, and have programs that can be replicated in other communities.

Source: Business Wire

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