FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Further Information Contact:
Reggi Veatch
Senior Communications Manager
veatchr@dfmc.org
410-872-9646

Delmarva Foundation Awarded Grant
to Develop Rapid Response Team Network
Initiative designed to improve patient outcomes, hospital work environment

Easton, MD, November 29, 2005
Delmarva Foundation, a national not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve healthcare, has received  a $150,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to form a multi-state Rapid Response Team (RRT) learning network to improve hospital patient outcomes.

RRTs are aimed at preventing cardiac arrests and codes in patients whose condition is deteriorating in the hospital in non-ICU settings.  According to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the use of RRTs to treat patients showing signs of instability before they reach the point of needed resuscitation has show dramatic reductions in the number of hospital deaths. Criteria for calling the team, which can be called upon by any hospital personnel at any time, may include a severe change in a patient’s vital signs, loss of consciousness, or when a staff member is concerned about a patient.

“Rapid Response Teams are an immediately achievable model for care that put patient needs at the center and relies on hospital teams working well together,” said Maulik Joshi, DrPH, President and CEO, Delmarva Foundation. “In addition to improving patient outcomes, these rapid response teams enhance the hospital organizational culture, especially for nurses, who play a critical role in ensuring the safety and quality of patient care.”

The Rapid Response Team Learning Network plan will result in the adoption of RRTs in more than 25 hospitals throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, with the potential for adoption in over 225 hospitals. The network will bring together community, teaching, and rural hospitals. Delmarva will also work with the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) to help facilitate the spread and learning of this important system of care to teaching hospitals  “The AAMC and Delmarva Foundation will work together in fostering and accelerating improvement of this important system of rapid response,” said David Stevens, MD, Vice President at the AAMC

In addition to working with AAMC, Delmarva will also partner with the Maryland Patient Safety Center, Ohio KePRO, Medicare’s Quality Improvement Organization for Ohio, and the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative.

For more information, please visit www.delmarvafoundation.org.

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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.