DUBLIN, OH – The Cardinal Health Foundation awarded $1 million in grant funding for new IT-related programs to improve patient safety at 35 hospitals, health systems and community health clinics across the country.

Grants of up to $35,000 per facility will provide funding for programs that implement creative and replicable methods to improve the quality of patient care.

Examples of initiatives that received funding include: targeted screening for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), strategies to improve physician hand hygiene, electronic medical record implementation and medication safety and reconciliation projects.

The primary criterion for awarding the grants was that they address the National Quality Forum’s priority areas, specifically concentrating on eliminating healthcare associated infections (HAIs) and medication safety and reconciliation “Medication safety and health care associated infections are two of the largest patient safety issues that health care organizations face every day, and the human toll and financial burden is escalating,” said Shelley Bird, chairwoman of the Cardinal Health Foundation.