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Reggi Veatch
Senior Communications Manager
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410-872-9646

Delmarva Foundation Awarded Governance and Leadership Research Study

Easton, Maryland, January 4, 2005 -Delmarva Foundation, a national not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve healthcare, announced today receipt of a research award that will enable Delmarva Foundation to survey hospital leaders and trustees about nursing staff retention and other workplace environment issues.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, awarded the grant. Delmarva Foundation President and CEO, Maulik Joshi, is principal researcher on the study.

"We have an opportunity to dramatically shift the way care is delivered and we know the role of hospital board members and leadership is a key component in helping hospitals meet the challenges facing them as they work toward achieving such changes," said Joshi. "This study will explore the connection between leadership and quality and the consequent impact this has on hospital performance. The findings from this study will provide us with insight concerning governance and leadership's engagement in quality efforts and will help lead to culture change within the hospital setting."

The research will focus on utilizing focus groups and interviews with hospital board chairs and CEOs to identify ways to improve hospital leadership's role in quality efforts.

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About Delmarva Foundation
Delmarva Foundation is a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality in over 20 states. Since 1973, Delmarva has assisted in improving care in hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, medical practices and health plans. Delmarva performs quality improvement, quality assurance, utilization review, external quality review and Program Safeguard activities. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Easton, Maryland with other offices in Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, DC; Columbia, South Carolina; Tampa, Florida; and Tallahassee, Florida. For more information, please visit Delmarva Foundation on the web at www.delmarvafoundation.org.