Four leading healthcare providers and one community organization have been named recipients of the 2012 IPRO Quality Awards. The awards, given annually by IPRO, recognize providers and professionals who demonstrate a high-level of commitment to improving the quality of care provided to New York’s Medicare beneficiaries and Medicaid recipients. The awards were presented during IPRO’s 28th Annual Meeting, June 5th at the New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott Hotel. “These awardees represent leaders of New York State’s healthcare community,” says Clare B. Bradley MD, MPH, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at IPRO. “What unites them is their commitment to quality. We applaud them for their achievements.” Awards were given for accomplishments on a range of quality-related topics:
• Elizabeth Eagleson, MD (Penn Yan, NY) In recognition of Dr. Eagleson’s commitment to improving access, care coordination, patient communications, and to providing the highest quality of care to patients, as demonstrated by her leadership in the achievement of NCQA Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition for two Finger Lakes Community health centers.
• Ellis Medicine (Schenectady, NY) In recognition of Ellis Medicine’s system-wide commitment to improving transitions of care for patients and their caregivers
• Institute for the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Elderly (New York, NY) In recognition of the Institute’s longstanding commitment to empowering Medicare beneficiaries to take an active role in managing their own health.
• Settlement Health and Human Services (New York, NY) In recognition of Settlement Health’s system-wide commitment to quality improvement and sharing of best practices; the valuable insights provided to the New York State healthcare community regarding the challenges in caring for a medically indigent population; and for achievement of NCQA Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition.
• Emmanuel St. Louis, MD, PC (Uniondale, NY) In recognition of Dr. St. Louis’s commitment to providing high quality care to his patients, as demonstrated by achievement of NCQA Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition and successful attestation for meaningful use.
As the federally-designated QIO for New York State, IPRO’s activities target the quality of healthcare provided to more than 3 million Medicare beneficiaries across the state. IPRO supports providers with evidence-based clinical interventions and technical assistance to improve healthcare processes and patient care across the continuum of care. Quality Award recipients demonstrate extraordinary commitment to implementing best practices. In addition to the awards ceremony, New York State’s Commissioner of Health, Nirav R. Shah, MD, MPH who delivered the keynote address, spoke about a series of leading-edge initiatives aimed at improving the delivery of healthcare across the state of New York. Janet Wright, MD, Executive Director of the Million Hearts™ campaign, presented information on this important national initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with the explicit goal of preventing a million heart attacks and strokes by 2017.