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Innovation and Excellence
Gage Awards
The 2023 Gage Awards program honored the outstanding work of America’s Essential Hospitals members.
Our Gage Awards recognized members for successful improvement projects, spreading best practices and innovative programs, and supporting our research, policy, and advocacy work by sharing stories of member successes with external audiences.
America’s Essential Hospitals formally honored the 2023 Gage Award recipients at a luncheon on Thursday, June 15, during VITAL2023.
Gage Awards
Population Health
Winner
Parkland Health
Advancing Health Equity in Dallas County
Honorable Mention
Sinai Chicago
Community Health Worker Support Program
Quality
Winner
UK HealthCare
Building a Systemwide Culture of Quality
Honorable Mention
New York City Health + Hospitals
Care Improvement Contest Initiative
Categories
Population Health
Gage Awards for population health recognize successful programs that aim to improve health outcomes for a defined population or community by addressing the social and economic factors that influence health.
Social determinants of health can include housing instability, food insecurity, transportation needs, utility needs, education, family and social supports, employment and income, interpersonal violence, health behaviors, health literacy, community infrastructure, legal needs, structural racism, and social needs screening.
Population health programs are not alike; but key features may include:
- working outside hospital walls to care for and/or improve the health of individuals living in a specified geographic area (e.g., county, city, etc.).
- a focus on promoting equitable health outcomes for vulnerable populations.
- using community-based resources to support population health.
- addressing social and economic factors (e.g., housing instability, food insecurity, utility needs, interpersonal violence, and transportation).
- forming community partnerships to combat structural racism.
- creating a learning organization able to rapidly deploy best practices.
- forming community partnerships to address population health.
Highly competitive programs will be innovative; engage the community and involve patients throughout the process, from design and implementation to completion; and partner with community-based organizations to reduce health disparities, improve health equity, and/or combat structural racism in vulnerable populations.
- Judging Criteria
- The program is innovative, featuring new and/or original methods, implementation, or delivery.
- The program was well-defined.
- The program used a rigorous needs assessment and program evaluation.
- The program addressed the social determinants of health/upstream factors.
- The program was accessible to geographically based individuals, not just patients already attributed to the health care system.
- The program seeks to intentionally reduce health disparities, improve health equity, and /or combat structural racism in vulnerable populations.
- Patients, families, and/or the community were engaged and intentionally involved in program design, planning, and development.
- The program effectively used community-based resources and partnered with other community organizations.
- Leadership was engaged in the project, and applicants provided a signed letter from leadership.
- Applicants reported at least one year of data.
- The results and baseline data demonstrated improved health outcomes.
Quality
Gage Awards for quality recognize activities that improve the delivery of care, improve patient experience, engage patients and their families, reduce staff burnout and/or reduce or eliminate harmful events affecting individual patients or groups of patients.
Improvement programs may include the use of evidence-based interventions, standardized practices, bundles of care, and checklists. Highly competitive programs will be innovative; show leadership commitment; and engage the community and patients from design to completion to reduce health disparities, improve health equity, and/or combat structural racism in vulnerable populations.
- Judging Criteria
- The project is innovative, featuring new and/or original methods, implementation, or delivery.
- The project was well-defined.
- A form of evaluation was used.
- Leadership was engaged in the project, and applicants provided a signed letter from leadership.
- Front-line staff was involved in the project.
- Patients and/or families were engaged and intentionally involved in the design, planning, and/or development of the program.
- Applicants reported at least one year of data.
- The project results demonstrated improved outcomes.
- The project’s outcomes promoted health equity, reduced health disparities, and /or combated structural racism in vulnerable populations.
Recognition
America’s Essential Hospitals will formally honor Gage Award recipients at a luncheon on Thursday, June 15, during VITAL2023, the association’s annual conference. The association will create and play short, two-minute videos highlighting each winning project during the luncheon.
The association website and publications will highlight Gage Award recipients. Recipients often are invited to share their work in other venues, including association webinars.
Each category winner will receive a Gage Awards plaque, and all project team members will receive a certificate. Winners also will receive one complimentary registration to VITAL2023, and a $1,000 stipend to assist with travel arrangements.
Honorable Mentions will receive a Gage Awards plaque and one complimentary registration to VITAL2023, and all project team members will receive a certificate.
Questions?
Contact us at events@essentialhospitals.org
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