HIMSS News
Working Together for the Common Ground Health Clinic, HIMSS Members Provide Monetary and Health IT Donations
CHICAGO (April 25, 2007) – With support from individual and corporate members, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) presented a check for $38,153 to the Common Ground Health Clinic in New Orleans. HIMSS members, totaling more than 20,000 individuals and 300 corporations, came together to provide donations of funds, supplies and health IT software and consulting for the clinic.
AT-A-GLANCE
- HIMSS received just over $38,000 in donations for Common Ground Health Clinic. McKesson donated $20,000, which is the largest monetary donation received.
- AllScripts donated EMR software.
- The clinic’s physician mentor, Dr. Jim Morrow, a 2004 Ambulatory Care Davies Award recipient, continues to work with the clinic on health IT solutions.
The HIMSS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Society dedicated to furthering healthcare IT professions, managed all monetary and acquisition of software and affiliated services donations to Common Ground Health Clinic. HIMSS presented the check on April 25 to Ravi Vadlamudi, MD, MPH, volunteer medical director, and Anne Mulle, family nurse practitioner, at the clinic.
“All of us at HIMSS wanted to ensure that the work of Common Ground Health Clinic could continue in New Orleans,” said H. Stephen Lieber, HIMSS president/CEO. “We recognize the effort our members made to provide the needed assistance to this clinic will help improve the delivery of healthcare as well as the use of technology in the local community.”
“Common Ground Health Clinic graciously accepts all of these donations and we look forward to the continued collaboration with HIMSS and other donors,” said Dr. Vadlamudi.
Making the EMR happen at Common Ground Health Clinic are: (left to right):
Brian Rasmussen, Allscripts; Chris Williams, Louisiana Health Care Review; David Collins, HIMSS; James R. Morrow, M.D., Healthcare Information Technology & Research, Inc.; Tung Ly, Louisiana Public Health Institute; Anne Mulle, Nurse Practitioner, Common Ground Health Clinic, Algiers, and in front, Antor Ola, Executive Director, Common Ground Health Clinic.
Since the early 1990s, the HIMSS Foundation has awarded more than $150,000 in scholarships to more than 45 exceptional students. In addition, the Foundation also administers the HIMSS Katrina Phoenix project funding to rebuild medical practices devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The clinic was founded after the hurricane hit but is now part of the Katrina Phoenix project at HIMSS. With duplicate items donated by one of the HIMSS exhibitors, Common Ground Health Clinic shared these products with Dr. Robert T. Kenny’s medical practice in New Orleans, a location transitioning from paper to digital paper records through the HIMSS Katrina Phoenix project.
The clinic has new space, which is almost next door to the clinic and will house the administrative side of the operation. Pictured in front of this new location are Jim Morrow, MD, physician mentor to the clinic and a 2005 Ambulatory Care HIMSS Davies Award recipient; and Antor Ola, the executive director of Common Ground Health Clinic.
In addition, eight other practice sites to-date in Louisiana have benefited from the HIMSS Katrina-Phoenix Project with three practices in various stages of EHR installation or implementation. Louisiana Health Care Review, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Louisiana, has played an instrumental role in the Katrina-Phoenix Project through the provision of its consultative services for the medical practices, vendor coordination, and ongoing follow-up to assure project success.
Common Ground – Donation Summary
(as of March 31, 2007)
Monetary donations: $38,153
Corporate monetary donations ($30,433)
- McKesson ($20,000) (announced at the conference)
- SAIC
- Maryland Society
- SSI Group
- Capsule Tech
- MedTech Publishing
- API
Individual monetary donations ($7,720)
54 individuals donated money to Common Ground Health Clinic
Physician Mentor
Jim Morrow, MD, a 2005 Ambulatory Care Davies Award recipient, and David Collins, manager, HIMSS Davies Award Program, met with the Common Ground Health Clinic team in New Orleans during the conference and conducted an IT needs assessment. Dr. Morrow has continued to talk with the clinic about the timeline for training and EMR implementation, targeted to be complete by end of this summer.
EMR Software
Dr. Morrow has secured a software donation for the EMR from AllScripts. Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) is working with the clinic to provide computers and technical assistance.
Other Corporate Product Donations:
- Ergotron:
Dr. Robert T. Kenny’s Medical Practice (New Orleans):
-One wall mount system, including vertical lifts, wall track and additional holders
Common Ground Health Clinic:
-Two LCD stands for 2 LCDs
-Two flat panel carts with power
- GE: 2 EKG machines and 2 scanners and 20 surge protectors
- DecisionOne: Three 21-inch monitors and four HP CD.DVDRW units
“It has been a pleasure to work with the staff of the Common Ground Health Clinic as they continue to provide quality healthcare treatment and support for the people of New Orleans,” said Dr. Morrow, who is also the chair of the HIMSS Electronic Health Record committee. “With an operable EMR in place, the clinic will be able to expand and enhance the treatment provided to their patients.”
Common Ground Health Clinic is also working with the Louisiana Public Health Institute as part of the Institute’s effort to implement EMRs in the local clinics in New Orleans through collaboration with the Partnership for Access to Healthcare (PATH).
HIMSS consulted with HIMSS members in the Gulf Region and city officials in New Orleans to determine its affiliation with Common Ground Health Clinic. A free clinic in the Algiers section of the city, Common Ground sees more than 200 patients per week, many of whom do not have health insurance.
The free clinic was born just after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans by just a handful of community volunteers who had the vision to call for a progressive response and reach out to emergency medics to run a first aid station and help develop it into a freestanding health clinic. Doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, counselors, pharmacists, acupuncturists, and physical therapists begin pouring in to work with Common Ground.
Donations can still be made to Common Ground Health Clinic by going to www.himss07.org/commonground/index.aspx on the HIMSS Web site.
About Common Ground Health Clinic
The Common Ground Health Clinic is a non-profit organization that provides free quality health care for the greater New Orleans community, and develops and provides programs to address community health care needs through collaborative partnerships.
About HIMSS
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry's membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brussels, and other locations across the United States and Europe, HIMSS represents more than 20,000 individual members and over 300 corporate members that collectively represent organizations employing millions of people. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare public policy and industry practices through its advocacy, educational and professional development initiatives designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to ensuring quality patient care. Visit www.himss.org for more information.
About HIMSS Foundation
As the philanthropic arm of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, the HIMSS Foundation is dedicated to furthering healthcare IT professions. Since the early 1990s, we have awarded more than $150,000 in scholarships to more than 45 exceptional students--with exceptional results.
