• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Blue Shield of California Foundation Awards $990,000 to Save Lives By Reducing Unnecessary Infections in California Hospitals

Posted on: Wednesday, 31 August 2005, 15:00 CDT

The Blue Shield of California Foundation today gave $990,000 to 11 California hospitals to participate in a demonstration program aimed at preventing hospital-borne infections. Such infections are responsible for an estimated 9,000 deaths, causing an additional $2.4 billion in healthcare costs, in California each year.

Receiving grants in the amount of $90,000 each are: Anaheim Memorial Medical Center Anaheim California Hospital Medical Center Los Angeles City of Hope National Medical Center Duarte Enloe Medical Center Chico Kaiser Foundation Hospital Fontana Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center Mission Viejo Paradise Valley Hospital National City Saint Agnes Medical Center Fresno San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center San Francisco Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Santa Barbara University of California, San Francisco Medical Center San Francisco

Based on a successful program in Alabama, the foundation is partnering with Birmingham-based MedMined Inc. to use its Data Mining Surveillance technology to identify where and when infections may originate early enough for hospital staff to change their practices to reduce unnecessary illness, length of stay, cost and most importantly, death.

"Usually, inspections discover what went wrong after the fact," said Crystal Hayling, president and CEO of the Blue Shield of California Foundation. "This technology will revolutionize hospital practices, allowing real-time monitoring and control to keep infections from occurring in the first place."

Currently, health care-associated infections cause 88,000 deaths per year nationwide. They affect 5-10% of all hospital admissions, are responsible for 50% of all hospital complications and add an average of 8.7 extra days of hospital care per case. Other pilots using the Data Mining Surveillance technology have reduced infection rates by 10-20% and saved hospitals $4 for every $1 they invest in preventing hospital-borne infections.

The $990,000 in awards announced today represents just some of the millions of dollars in grants given each year by the Blue Shield of California Foundation. In July, the foundation gave $800,000 to support California hospitals enrolled in the Institute for Health Improvement 100,000 Lives Campaign, which is seeking to extend or save 100,000 lives nationwide each year by improving hospital practices.

Blue Shield of California Foundation was formed by Blue Shield of California, a not-for-profit corporation with more than 3.3 million members, 4,300 employees and 20 offices throughout California. The Blue Shield of California Foundation provides charitable contributions, conducts research and supports programs with an emphasis on reducing the number of uninsured, using technology to promote health, and preventing domestic violence. For more information, visit the Blue Shield of California website at www.mylifepath.com or the foundation at www.blueshieldcafoundation.org.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category