For Immediate Release

For more information, contact:
Gloria O'Connell, 612-863-4801

Allina Hospitals & Clinics wins four 2009 MHA awards

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. 05/12/2009--Allina Hospitals & Clinics is proud to be associated with employees and physicians responsible for receiving four awards from the Minnesota Hospital Association on Friday, May 8. They received Caregiver of the Year, Innovation of the Year in Patient Care, Calls to Action and Community Benefit.

Karine (Chip) Zakroczymski, coordinator of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program at Unity Hospital was named Caregiver of the Year.

SANE nurses treat physical injuries, gather forensic evidence and provide emergency contraception and sexually-transmitted disease prevention.

"Chip has changed the lives of many women, and she has also changed the understanding of our broader community about how sexual violence impacts all of us," says Unity president Rickie Ressler.

Owatonna Hospital won the Innovation of the Year in Patient Care Award by changing in the care process for patients receiving colon surgery and hernia repairs. The European-based "enhanced recovery protocol" has reduced by half the time these patients are in the hospital.

"These are amazing results that are making a difference in people’s lives," Sharon Kapp, RN and Medical Surgical and Special Care Unit manager said. "We could not have done this without the combined efforts of our nurses, dietitians, anesthesia, physicians and pharmacists across the Owatonna Hospital and Owatonna Clinic campuses."

Buffalo Hospital earned the Calls to Action Award by reaching zero retained objects after newborn deliveries. The Birth Center staff had been faithfully practicing sponge counts before and after deliveries but still had two events in 2007 in which gauze was left behind in patients. Multiple efforts to change its processes paid off, and the hospital had no such retained objects in all of 2008 or so far in 2009.

“When it comes to safety and quality, people rally together because they know we are making efforts for the right reason – to deliver exceptional, quality and safe care to our patients,” says Buffalo Birth Center manager Cindy Oquist.

Phillips Eye Institute received the Community Benefit Award for its Early Youth Eyecare initiative to remove vision problems in children.

"The impact of the EYE Program is more profound when recognizing that ethnic minorities and children from poor urban areas fail vision screenings at twice the rate of the general population," said Pam Ross, the institute’s Community Program manager. "We thank the MHA for recognizing the EYE program and hope we can continue and expand our work."

See MHA.org for a complete list of winners.

Allina Hospitals & Clinics is a not-for-profit health care system of hospitals, clinics and other patient care services that provides exceptional care to communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin and employs more than 22,000 people.