Schwartz Center Announces 2013 Grants Program
The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the relationship between patients and their clinical caregivers and maintaining the human connection in healthcare, is now accepting letters of interest from U.S. healthcare organizations developing innovative programs and initiatives to promote compassionate care within the patient-centered medical home setting.
Grants of $25,000-$75,000 a year will be awarded for a one- or two-year period beginning in September 2013 to nonprofit organizations that meet any of the following criteria:
- Are participating primary care practices under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative;
- Are certified by the Joint Commission as a primary care medical home;
- Are recognized by the National Committee on Quality Assurance as a Level 1, 2 or 3 patient- ?centered medical home in its 2011 recognition program; or
- Are an Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care certified medical home. ?Successful proposals will describe how grant funds will be used to support and enhance sustained and compassionate relationships between patients and families and their healthcare providers. Proposals should describe specific initiatives for maintaining the continuity of compassionate relationships between patients and all levels of care providers – especially where team-based care or care transitions can leave patients confused about who is coordinating their care. ?According to Schwartz Center Director of Programs Robb Johnson, “We are interested in supporting innovations that foster continuity in caring relationships – not just continuity in data and patient management systems.”
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
Likelihood that the project will result in sustained improvement to patient and family experiences of compassionate care;
Degree to which the project represents an innovative approach;
Evidence that patient and family perspectives will be, or have been, incorporated into the ?proposed project and work plan;
Strength and rigor of the proposed evaluation plan;
Financial feasibility, including ability to attract matching or complementary funds;
Degree to which the model is replicable and can be spread; and
Feasibility of plans to publish or otherwise disseminate the knowledge gained.
Since 1997, the Schwartz Center has awarded more than $2.4 million in grants to fund innovative programs to advance compassionate, patient- and family-centered care. More information about the 2013 grants program is available on the Schwartz Center’s website, www.theschwartzcenter.org.
About the Schwartz Center
The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare (www.theschwartzcenter.org) is a nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the relationship between patients and their clinical caregivers and maintaining the human connection in healthcare. The Center reflects the vision of Ken Schwartz, who died of lung cancer at age 40 and found that what mattered most to him as a patient was the compassionate care he received from his caregivers, which he said “made the unbearable bearable.” He founded the Schwartz Center in 1995 to ensure that all patients receive such care. The Center’s signature program is Schwartz Center Rounds, which allows caregivers from multiple disciplines to come together on a regular basis to discuss the most challenging emotional and social issues they face in caring for patients. The program has been adopted by hundreds of healthcare institutions in the U.S. and U.K. and has been found to enhance compassion, improve teamwork, and reduce caregiver stress. The Center is housed at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where Ken Schwartz received his care.