FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Further Information Contact:
Desiree M. Voinche
Manager, Communications and Outreach
voinched@dfmc.org

National Award Recognizes Delmarva Foundation
and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Quality Improvement Efforts
Program Receives 2007 Distinctively Blue Award for Hospital Quality Improvement

Baltimore, Maryland, October 11, 2007 – Successful efforts to reduce hospital-acquired infections in the mid-Atlantic region were recently honored with a national award from the BlueCross BlueShield Association of America. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) received the 2007 Distinctively Blue Award for Innovations for the 100,000 Lives and Beyond Collaborative. CareFirst and the Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care, a healthcare quality improvement organization, work jointly on this ongoing program to improve the quality of care in local hospitals.

CareFirst and Delmarva Foundation are working together to build on national patient safety focus areas, including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) 100,000 Lives and 5 Million Lives campaigns.

“Delmarva Foundation is an outstanding partner with us on a number of fronts,” said Dr. Jon Shematek, CareFirst Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. “We are making measurable strides in improving health care quality and this award confirms the progress we are seeing.”

The 100,000 Lives and Beyond Collaborative, a program offered by Delmarva Foundation with financial support from CareFirst, ran from January 2006 to January 2007. Delmarva worked with 28 hospitals from Maryland, the District of Columbia, and northern Virginia to implement evidence-based strategies to improve the process of care and clinical outcomes inthe intensive care unit (ICU) and operating room (OR).The 100,000 Lives and Beyond Collaborative aligned national and regional regulatory and accreditation patient safety goals and priorities with clinically relevant outcomes and local priorities.

Highlighted results from the 100,000 Lives and Beyond Collaborative include:

• 53% of reporting ICU teams improved compliance with key processes that can reduceventilator-associated pneumonia cases; 67% of teams reduced rates of these infections to zero.
• 80% of OR teams improved the timing of antibiotics before surgery, which can reduce rates of surgical infections. In addition, 80% of teams reported no surgical infections at the end of the collaborative.

“We are so proud of the accomplishments of the hospitals involved in the 100,000 Lives and Beyond Collaborative,” commented Dr. Margaret Toth, Delmarva’s Chief Quality Officer. “Delmarva and CareFirst are natural partners that continue to be innovative leaders with work on healthcare-associated infections. We look forward to continuing our efforts to improve the quality of healthcare in these important settings.”

The Distinctively Blue Award program recognizes quality programs deployed by BlueCross BlueShield-affiliated plans. Of 61 submissions, 6 awards and 2 honorable mentions were given at the BlueCross BlueShield Distinctively Blue Conference.

For more information regarding Delmarva Foundation and quality improvement collaboratives, contact: Bonnie Noble at nobleb@dfmc.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.