Call for Submissions Open for $100,000 Hearst Health Prize in Partnership With the Jefferson College of Population Health

NEW YORK, NY and PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwired - August 12, 2015) - Hearst Health, a division of Hearst Corporation, and the Jefferson College of Population Health of Thomas Jefferson University, today announced the call for submissions is now open for the inaugural Hearst Health Prize, an annual $100,000 cash award given in recognition of an organization's or individual's outstanding achievement in managing or improving wellness. The announcement was made by Gregory Dorn, MD, president of Hearst Health, and David B. Nash, MD, MBA, dean of the Jefferson College of Population Health.

Hearst Health Prize submissions are open to organizations, individuals or institutions who have demonstrated measurably improved outcomes in managing the health of a population -- such as a physician's practice, a hospital's primary service area, an employee group, a community or other distinct group-through effective programs, projects or interventions. These programs may involve areas including technology, care delivery, clinical processes or care guidance information.

The Hearst Health Prize competition is not a grant program; only submissions that describe an implemented project with improved outcomes will be considered. Employees of Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Health, Hearst and their affiliates, or members of their immediate family, are not eligible to apply.

The deadline for submissions is October 23, 2015. For full details, including eligibility, submission criteria and application and competition rules, please visit www.jefferson.edu/HearstHealthPrize.

Applications will be vetted by the Jefferson College of Population Health and a distinguished panel of judges. Judges will evaluate submissions based on the program's:

• Population health impact or outcome, demonstrated by measurable improvement
• Use of evidence-based interventions and best practices to improve the quality of care
• Scalability and sustainability
• Promotion of engagement, collaboration and communication
• Innovation

The winner of the $100,000 Hearst Health Prize will be announced on March 8, 2016 at the opening session of the Population Health Colloquium in Philadelphia.

"Population health is essential to transforming our healthcare system from an illness-centered system to one focused on protecting and improving health," Nash said. "There is tremendous work being done in this field and we want to generate awareness and dialog around success stories and best practices through the Hearst Health Prize."

"The ultimate goal of the Hearst Health Prize is to recognize, support and celebrate the work of a group or institution that has successfully implemented a population health program or intervention that improves clinical outcomes," Dorn said. "Our goal is to expand the forum in which this clinical work can be shared."

Notable dates for the 2015 Hearst Health Prize:

• October 23, 2015: Closing date for submissions
• January 2016: Finalists notified
• March 7, 2016: Finalists will present at a special poster session at the Population Health Colloquium in Philadelphia
• March 8, 2016: Winner of the $100,000 Hearst Health Prize will be announced at the Population Health Colloquium

About Hearst Health
The Hearst Health network includes FDB (First Databank), Zynx Health, MCG, Homecare Homebase, Hearst Health International, Hearst Health Ventures and the Hearst Health Innovation Lab (www.hearsthealth.com). The mission of the Hearst Health network is to help guide the most important care moments by delivering vital information into the hands of everyone who touches a person's health journey. Each year in the U.S., care guidance from the Hearst Health network reaches 84 percent of discharged patients, 174 million insured individuals, 35 million home health visits, and 4 billion prescriptions.

About the Jefferson College of Population Health
The Jefferson College of Population Health (JCPH) is the first and only school of its kind in the country. Established in 2008, it is part of Thomas Jefferson University, a leading academic health center founded in Philadelphia in 1824 as Jefferson Medical College (now Sidney Kimmel Medical College). The College is dedicated to exploring the policies and forces that define the health and well-being of populations. Its mission is to prepare leaders with global vision to examine the social determinants of health and to evaluate, develop and implement health policies and systems that will improve the health of populations and thereby enhance the quality of life. Jefferson College of Population Health provides exemplary graduate academic programming in population health, public health, health policy, healthcare quality and safety, and health outcomes research. Its educational offerings are enhanced by research, publications and continuing education and professional development offerings in these areas.

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