Three Finalists Named for $100,000 Hearst Health Prize in Partnership With the Jefferson College of Population Health

NEW YORK, NY and PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwired - February 09, 2016) - Hearst Health, a division of Hearst, and the Jefferson College of Population Health of Thomas Jefferson University, today announced the three finalists for the inaugural Hearst Health Prize, a $100,000 award given in recognition of outstanding achievement in managing or improving health. 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, who is one of the judges.

The finalists are (in alphabetical order):

Centering Healthcare Institute: CenteringPregnancy is an innovative approach to prenatal care that has reached more than 125,000 pregnant women in 400 practice sites across the country. It is a group care delivery model that brings together women with similar due dates for an extended time with their clinical provider to receive three components of care: health assessment, interactive learning and community building.

Impact of program:

• Reductions in preterm birth between 33 percent and 47 percent across five published peer-reviewed studies; reduced odds of preterm birth are particularly dramatic among African American women
• Increases in birth weight, especially for preterm infants
• The model is shown to lower healthcare costs on an average of more than $2,000 per pregnant woman -- Centering's approved sites are estimated to have saved the healthcare system $35 million in 2014

Community Care of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.: A transitional care management model that includes medication management, education for self-management and timely outpatient communication with the medical home to follow up on clinical and social issues that can affect outcomes. The program is delivered to 1.4 million North Carolina Medicaid beneficiaries, including dual-eligibles, with a strong focus on identifying individuals with chronic medical conditions at risk for hospitalization or readmission.

Impact of program:

• The rates of hospitalization and readmission for the target population have declined by 10 percent and 16 percent, respectively, since 2008
• 9 percent reduction in in total Medicaid costs -- cited by North Carolina Office of the State Auditor
• Established real-time data connections with 87 hospitals, representing 78 percent of all Medicaid hospitalizations

Jersey City Medical Center - Barnabas Health: The Wealth from Health®, Inc. program provides incentives to engage patients, families and caregivers in education, care management and healthy behaviors. It serves adults and children with complex chronic diseases, including asthma, sickle-cell anemia, HIV, renal stage disease and behavioral health issues (approximately 2,500 individuals).

Impact of program:

• A 40 percent reduction in inpatient admissions for members enrolled at least six months
• A 32 percent reduction in cost for those patients who had at least two chronic conditions
• For those enrolled in the program for at least one year, there was a total of $2.1 million reduction of cost when compared to a full year prior to program enrollment

The finalists will present their programs at a special poster session at the 16^th annual Population Health Colloquium in Philadelphia on March 7, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. One winner of the Hearst Health Prize will be announced at the Colloquium on the following morning, March 8, at 8 a.m.

"The Hearst Health Prize uncovered many innovative and effective population health initiatives," Dorn said. "We applaud the finalists for truly distinguishing themselves by creating and administering programs that deliver meaningful quality, health and economic outcomes."

"The quality of the submissions were outstanding, and we are encouraged by the broad impact that our finalists' programs have made," Nash said. "Our hope is that their success and impact can be translated into other programs and communities across the country."

More than 125 submissions for the Hearst Health Prize were received from hospitals and health systems, academic medical centers, academic institutions, community organizations, nonprofits and health departments across the U.S. Applications were evaluated 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; and innovation.

The finalists were the highest scoring in these criteria based on evaluation by a distinguished panel of judges:

• Nancy-Ann DeParle, JD
• Mark Fendrick, MD
• Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, MPH, CPPS
• H. Stephen Lieber, CAE
• Mark McClellan, MD, PhD
• David B. Nash, MD, MBA
• Valinda Rutledge, MBA, MSN
• James M. Schibanoff, MD
• Mark D. Smith, MD, MBA

For more details about the Hearst Health Prize, go to www.jefferson.edu/HearstHealthPrize or visit the Hearst Health booth #1143 at HIMSS16, March 1-3 in Las Vegas.

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, 41 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.

HEARST HEALTH PRIZE FINALISTS:

About Centering Healthcare Institute
Centering Healthcare Institute is a non-profit organization that supports clinical practice sites that offer the Centering model and advocates for the model nationally. Centering is an evidence-based group care model bringing women together with their healthcare provider for prenatal and postnatal visits. For more information visit www.centeringhealthcare.org.

About Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC)
CCNC is a community-based, public-private partnership that takes a population management approach to improving healthcare and containing costs for North Carolina's most vulnerable populations. Through its 14 local network partners, CCNC creates "medical homes" in all 100 counties for Medicaid beneficiaries, individuals that are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, privately-insured employees and uninsured people. www.communitycarenc.com.

About Jersey City Medical Center - Barnabas Health
JCMC-BH serves a large urban culturally and economically diverse community. Barnabas Health is one of the largest healthcare delivery systems in the region, with more than two million patient visits and delivery of more than 20,000 babies annually. The not-for-profit health care system includes seven acute care hospitals, two children's hospitals, a trauma center, and a wide range of outpatient and community health services. As the second-largest private employer in New Jersey, Barnabas Health includes more than 21,000 employees and over 5,000 physicians -- or one-fifth of the actively practicing physicians in New Jersey. www.BarnabasHealth.org.

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