Saint Thomas Health is pleased to announce that it has received $50,000 from the Cardinal Health Foundation's Generation Rx Best Practices in Pain Medication Use grant program. The grant will be used to support the Saint Thomas Health Pain Management, Prescription Protocols, and Patient Engagement program which addresses the opioid epidemic in Middle Tennessee. The program will initially be implemented within the Emergency Departments of eight hospitals in seven counties and later integrated into hospital in-patient units. The program offers physician prescription guidelines, protocols, and Continuing Medical Education for Emergency Department physicians and residents.
Opiod Action Program
"This grant will support our efforts to encourage a consistent policy and best practices for treating patients with acute and chronic pain and offering alternative pain management without prescriptive narcotics. Of significant importance are the individualized and jointly developed physician and case management patient care plans that will engage families and encompass links to Primary Care Providers." said Dr. Allison Bollinger, Chief of Emergency Medicine at Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital and Director of Saint Thomas Health ED Collaborative. "This program is part of Saint Thomas Health's continued commitment to opioid management solutions."
Saint Thomas Health was one of 15 healthcare organizations across Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia to receive the Best Practices in Pain Medication Use grant. As part of Cardinal Health's Opioid Action Program, the Best Practices in Pain Medication Use grants are designed to support healthcare organizations work with their prescribers to reduce opioid prescriptions, find alternatives to opioid medication for pain management, and better engage their patients--with the ultimate goal of better patient outcomes. Organizations receiving this grant will also come together regularly in a learning collaborative guided by pain management specialists from the Geisinger Health Clinic, to share their progress, lessons learned and best practices as they fight the opioid epidemic.
"All of the organizations selected for funding share our goal of turning the tide on the opioid epidemic," said Jessie Cannon, Vice President of Community Relations at Cardinal Health. "Ultimately, we expect our grantees to learn from each other--and we will learn from them. As they develop best practices, our goal is to spread this work throughout the country, and foster solutions to this complex public health crisis."
About Saint Thomas Health
In Tennessee, Ascension's Saint Thomas Health operates nine hospitals in addition to a comprehensive network of affiliated joint ventures, medical practices, clinics and rehabilitation facilities that cover a 68-county area and employ more than 8,000 associates. Across the state, Saint Thomas Health provided more than $92 million in community benefit and care of persons living in poverty in fiscal year 2017. Serving Tennessee for 15 years, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Ascension is the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world's largest Catholic health system, operating more than 2,600 sites of care - including 151 hospitals and more than 50 senior living facilities - in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Visit www.sthealth.com.
About Cardinal Health's Opioid Action Program
The Opioid Action Program is a multi-prong initiative to help communities in four of the nation's hardest-hit states fight the opioid epidemic. Each element of the program is cited by leading experts, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) and the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, as critical to reducing opioid misuse, abuse, and addiction. The Opioid Action Program builds on Generation Rx, created through a partnership with the Cardinal Health Foundation and The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy to raise awareness and knowledge about the dangers of prescription drug misuse.
About the Cardinal Health Foundation
The Cardinal Health Foundation supports local, national and international programs that improve health care efficiency, effectiveness and excellence and the overall wellness of the communities where Cardinal Health, Inc.'s (NYSE:CAH) approximately 50,000 employees live and work. The Cardinal Health Foundation also offers grants to encourage community service among its employees and works through international agencies to donate much-needed medical supplies and funding to those who need them in times of disaster; because Cardinal Health, Inc. is #AllInForGood. To learn more, visit www.CardinalHealth.com/community.
About Generation Rx
Generation Rx works to end prescription drug misuse through prevention education, drug take back, best practices in pain management and community collaborations. The program was created through a partnership with the Cardinal Health Foundation and The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. Since 2009, more than one million people across the country have been reached with Generation Rx messages, and pharmacists in 40 states have been honored with the Generation Rx Champions Award. To learn more, visit www.GenerationRx.org.
About Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health, Inc. is a global, integrated healthcare services and products company, providing customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide. The company provides clinically proven medical products, pharmaceuticals and cost-effective solutions that enhance supply chain efficiency from hospital to home. Cardinal Health connects patients, providers, payers, pharmacists and manufacturers for integrated care coordination and better patient management. To help combat prescription drug abuse, the company and its education partners created Generation Rx, a national drug education and awareness program. Backed by nearly 100 years of experience, with approximately 50,000 employees in nearly 60 countries, Cardinal Health ranks #14 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit cardinalhealth.com, follow @CardinalHealth on Twitter, @cardinalhealthwings on Facebook and connect on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/ company/cardinal-health.
