Banner Health receives $35,000 grant for patient safety

PHOENIX (June 28, 2011) — Banner Health today announced that it has received $35,000 in grant funding from the Cardinal Health Foundation to strengthen patient-safety practices.

Banner Health will use the funding from the Cardinal Health Foundation for its "Never Means Never" initiative.

The initiative is Banner's integrated approach to implementing the "Safe Surgery Process" to prevent wrong site surgery and the "No Thing Left Behind - Count Process" to prevent objects being unintentionally left following surgery. 

These processes are designed to engage all Banner operating-team members in delivering safe patient care.

In 2011, the Cardinal Health E3 Grant Program awarded more than $1 million in grant funding to help nearly 40 health care providers in 20 states improve the excellence, effectiveness and efficiency of health care they provide to patients.

For the second consecutive year, this competitive grant program specifically encouraged providers to submit funding requests for programs that seek to improve medication management or operating room safety.

“The E3 Grant Program funding has been used by hundreds of health care organizations over the past three years to implement meaningful, long-term improvements in the way they care for patients,” said Shelley Bird, executive vice president of public affairs for Cardinal Health and chairperson of the Cardinal Health Foundation.

About Banner Health
Headquartered in Phoenix, Banner Health is one of the largest, nonprofit health care systems in the country. The system owns or leases 23 acute-care hospitals, long-term care centers, outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services including family clinics, home care and hospice services, and a nursing registry. Banner Health is in seven states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming.

About the Cardinal Health Foundation
The Cardinal Health Foundation supports local, national and international programs that improve health care quality and build healthy communities. The Cardinal Health Foundation also offers grants to encourage employee service to the community and works through international agencies to donate much-needed medical supplies and funding to those who need them in times of disaster. To learn more, visit cardinalhealth.com/community.