Fifteenth Annual Monroe E. Trout Premier Cares Award/Vision
Descriptions and contact information for award recipient, finalists and semi-finalists
Compiled January 2007
Video highlights of award winner and finalists' programs coming soon)
Award recipient
South Bay Asthma Advocacy Project
Paradise Valley Hospital, National City, CA
In 2002, the home-based intervention arm of Paradise Valley’s Respiratory Care Department established the South Bay Asthma Advocacy Program to actively address the leading chronic disease among children in San Diego County—and across the nation. Since that time, more than 1,800 asthmatic children and their families have learned to effectively manage this chronic disease.
The program provides home-based intervention for families with asthmatic children from newborns to age 17, removes barriers to improved health, and builds lung health awareness through in-home education and environmental assessments by licensed respiratory care practitioners.
Results from the asthma program include an 87 percent decline in emergency room visits, a 70 percent decrease in unscheduled doctor visits, and a 73 percent decrease in school absenteeism for program graduates. Since 2002, more than $1 million in healthcare savings and significant quality of life improvements have been realized.
Contacts:
Ayda Parra-Sendt, Asthma Educator
Danish Farook, Asthma Educator
South Bay Asthma Advocacy Program
Paradise Valley Hospital
2400 East Fourth St.
National City, CA 91950
619.470.4185
parraag@ah.org
Finalists
Birth Companions
Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD
Since 1999, nursing students specially trained as Birth Companions have provided free “doula” care to poor women in Baltimore City and Prince George County, Maryland. The student nurse doulas partner with mothers before birth, throughout labor, and after birth with emotional, informational, and physical support.
Expectant mothers working with Birth Companions benefit from improved healthcare for themselves and their infants. Program participants are less likely to have pre-term or low-birth-weight newborns compared to state and national indicators. Birth Companion student nurses benefit from specialized training in culturally sensitive, diverse lifestyles, health needs, and healthcare preferences among different ethnic populations.
Emphasis also is placed on identifying medical risks, educating about the impact of smoking, and explaining the importance of good nutrition.
So far, 413 nursing students have provided support and increased positive outcomes for 403 births in Maryland. Additional data suggest that the presence of a Birth Companion results in fewer medical interventions—like epidurals, episiotomies, and Caesarean sections—during birth.
Contact:
Elizabeth "Betty" Jordan, DNSc, RNC
Birth Companions Program - Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
525 N. Wolfe St.
Baltimore, MD 21205
410.614.5306
bjordan@son.jhmi.edu
Children’s Advocacy Project (CAP)
Community Health Center of Central Wyoming, Casper, WY
Established in 2002, CAP serves children from birth through age 17 and their non-offending family members, regardless of ability to pay or state of residence. Project participants coordinate forensic and health services for alleged victims of sexual assault, severe neglect and physical abuse, kidnapping and witness to crime through a multi-disciplinary team of health, legal, social services, and law enforcement professionals.
The Children’s Advocacy Project receives referrals from other community agencies when they have identified cases of severe child maltreatment that require especially careful handling.
Victims receive all treatment and support services in one specially-designed, child-friendly center that is safe and welcoming. Project success has been documented by the number of child abuse cases that are filed with specific charges and the number of cases that result in guilty charges and confessions. Since the project began, Casper police have documented a 30 percent rise in the conviction of child molesters—and no cases have been dismissed due to taint of witness.
Contacts:
Beth Eveland, CEO, Community Health Center of Central Wyoming
Amanda Moeller, Project Director
The Children's Advocacy Project
907 N. Poplar, Suite 250
Casper, WY 82601
307.233.6014
beveland@chccw.org
amoeller@chccw.org
Dental Health Initiative
St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network, Bethlehem, PA
Established in 1998, the Dental Health Initiative has grown from simply offering dental education and awareness for school children to providing comprehensive dental health services to needy preschoolers, adolescents, and adults as well.
Since its inception, the Dental Health Initiative has added services and care options to support its three main objectives: education and awareness, preventive care, and restorative care.
The program’s offerings are promoted through a variety of dental health improvement campaigns. Care is delivered to many of its targeted citizens through a mobile dental unit which travels among schools and community agencies. Dentists and dental hygiene students from an area community college volunteer their time to provide restorative and preventive care.
To mark the initiative’s success, fillings have been seen to decrease in direct proportion to an increase in sealant applications—and the number of schools seeking services through the initiative continues to grow.
Contact:
Bonnie Coyle MD, Community Health Director
Dental Health Initiative - Bethlehem Partnership for a Healthy Community
St. Luke's Hospital and Health Network
801 Ostrum St.
Bethlehem, PA 18015
610.954.4060
coyleb@slhn.org
Metta Health Center
Lowell Community Health Center, Lowell, MA
Lowell, Massachusetts is home to the second largest Cambodian population in the United States. As newcomers to this country—many suffering the trauma of fleeing their homelands and leaving family members behind—the Southeast Asian residents of this New England community face health and cultural challenges every day.
Established in 2000, by the Lowell Community Health Center to address health issues and related factors impacting the area’s Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese residents, the Metta Health Center seeks to ease the impact of chronic illnesses like diabetes and the burden of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in an environment that blends Western primary care and mental healthcare with Eastern traditional healing and alternative medicine.
To reduce language issues, all signs and literature within the center are written in English, Laotian and Khmer—and trained medical interpreters are readily available.
Through a culturally-sensitive case management approach to care, Metta Health Center diabetes patients have documented improved long-term blood sugar levels, and testing of mental health patients has shown marked improvements in depression and PTSD severity.
Contacts:
Dorcas Grigg-Saito, Lowell Community Health Center
Sonith Peau, Director, Metta Health Center
Metta Health Center - Lowell Community Health Center
585 Merrimack St.
Lowell, MA 01854
978.441.1700
dorcasgr@lchealth.org
sonithpe@lchealth.org
Vision Health and Dental Health Initiatives
Palmetto Health, Columbia, SC
The Vision Health and Dental Health Initiatives of Palmetto Health in Columbia, SC, provide eye exams and glasses, restorative dental care, and periodontal disease screening and treatment to uninsured and underserved citizens in Richland, Lexington, Fairfield, and Pickens Counties in South Carolina.
Through the Vision Health Initiative, begun in 1999, more than 100 schools, four Wal-Mart Vision Centers, and numerous optometrists make eye exams and glasses available to K-12 school children who might otherwise go without. Children who receive vision care through the initiative have realized a 70 percent improvement in school grades.
The Dental Health Initiative, founded in 1998, has expanded from the community’s first Medicaid dental clinic to providing restorative dental care to HIV/AIDS patients as well as periodontal disease screening and treatment for uninsured pregnant women. Initiative outcomes reveal that pregnant women receiving dental care have carried their babies longer than those not receiving care; HIV/AIDS patients have experienced increased job attainment rates following dental health services; and children and adults receiving dental care have missed less time from school and work.
Contacts:
Vince Ford, Senior Vice President
Tiffany Sullivan, Director
Office of Community Services, Palmetto Health
Palmetto Health Dental Health and Vision Health Initiatives
P.O. Box 2266
Columbia, SC 29202
803.296.3070
vince.ford@palmettohealth.org
tiffany.sullivan@palmettohealth.org
Semi-finalists
B4 Babies and Beyond
Grand Junction, CO
In 1990, Hilltop Community Resources created B4 Babies and Beyond as a single point of contact for prenatal care services for low income, uninsured women to gain access to publicly-funded healthcare programs. The program is designed to provide prenatal care access, information, referrals, and clear guidance on appropriate resources to low-income women; improve access and provide transportation and translation services to non-English speaking women; and coordinate and expand community collaboration through a provider rotation system and advisory board meetings.
Contact:
Barbara Salogga, Director of Marketing
and Development
B4 Babies and Beyond
1331 Hermosa Ave.
Grand Junction, CO 81506
970.242.4400
barbaras@htop.org
Eddy Visiting Nurse Association of Northeast Health
Troy, NY
The Eddy Visiting Nurse Association is a not-for-profit home care agency serving five counties in New York since 1908. The program is based on the use of “telehomecare” technology as an approach to monitoring and managing home care patients considered at high risk for hospitalization and emergency room visits.
Contact:
Johanna Lupoli, BS, RN
Telehomecare Nurse Specialist
Eddy Visiting Nurse Association
433 River St.
Troy, NY 21280
518.270.1377
lupolij@nehealth.com
Community Youth Services of Memorial Healthcare System
Hollywood, FL
Since 1998, this program has been a part of Memorial Healthcare System’s outreach to meet the needs of troubled youth and their families. The program provides after-school care, alcohol/drug/tobacco prevention initiatives, pregnant teen counseling, and family therapy.
Contact:
Marilyn Munson
Administrative Director of Marketing and Communications
Community Youth Services
3501 Johnson St.
Hollywood, FL 33021
954.985.3452
mmunson@mhs.net
The Center for Body, Mind & Spirit/Ireland Cancer Center
Elyria, OH
Medical treatment alone does not always address the often devastating issues of mind and spirit experienced by those with cancer. The center opened in 2002 to address these additional needs in a medical setting. Services provided include expressive arts, meditation, reiki, yoga, and tai chi. The center is affiliated with Catholic Healthcare Partners’ Community Health Partners Regional Medical Center.
Contact:
Joan Cikra, Administrative Director
The Center for Body, Mind & Spirit
41201 Schaden Rd.
Elyria, OH 44035
440.324.0451
j.cikra@health-partners.org
TriHealth Nurse Midwives
Cincinnati, OH
TriHealth, a partnership between Good Samaritan Hospital and Bethesda Hospital in Cincinnati, established its Nurse Midwives program in 2002 to improve access to health and pregnancy care for medically underserved women. The program’s mission is to provide safe, satisfying women’s healthcare with certified nurse midwives as the primary providers.
Contact:
Agnes Coveney, Director
TriHealth Nurse Midwives
375 Dixmyth Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45220
513.872.1667
agnes_coveney@trihealth.com