The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has awarded almost $4 million to fund 13 projects designed to improve patient safety. Six of the grants will assess patient safety risks and devise ways to prevent them. The remaining seven projects will implement safe practices that show evidence of eliminating or reducing known hazards to patient safety.
The 13 grants build on the Agency's 3-year, $165 million investment in patient safety research. AHRQ currently has over 100 other research projects that comprise an extensive, user-driven patient safety research agenda designed to improve patient safety and enhance the quality of care. Below is a list of the institutions that have received a challenge grant, the city and State in which the project will be conducted, and the Federal dollars awarded.
The Agency will provide up to 50 percent of the total cost of the projects, while grant recipients will be required to provide a minimum of 50 percent of the total costs. However, some grant recipients will be providing far more than the minimum. For example, for the implementation project awarded to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan will provide up to $10 million in incentive payments to hospital participants in Michigan, in addition to the commitments made by participating Michigan hospital teams and the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.
These cooperative agreements were announced in collaboration with the Patient Safety Task Force established by HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson to coordinate research efforts across HHS. The Task Force is composed of representatives from AHRQ, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Food and Drug Administration.
Risk Assessment Grants
Boston Medical Center
Boston, MA
$200,000
St. Jude's Children's Research
Hospital, Memphis, TN
$200,000
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, MA
$199,968
Veterans Medical Research Foundation
San Diego, CA
$187,895
Oregon Department of Human Services
Portland, OR
$165,205
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
$139,400
Implementation Grants
Sacred Heart Medical Center Foundation
Eugene, OR
$498,720
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO
$470,620
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
$454,590
Kaiser Foundation Research Institute
Oakland, CA
$443,767
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
$400,000
Cincinnati Foundation for Biomedical Research and Education
Cincinnati, OH
$327,721
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI
$270,175
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