Pennsylvania Health Systems Recognized for COVID-19 Innovation

The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania has named the top three winners in a contest recognizing innovative programs launched to address care needs during the pandemic.

Three Pennsylvania health systems are being recognized for innovations they made during the pandemic to improve patient care.

The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), an organization of more than 240 healthcare organizations and other stakeholders in the Keystone State, announced the three winners – comprising four programs – in a contest in which more than 80 entries were judged.

“Pennsylvania hospitals have not only protected the health of their communities during this pandemic but have also been leaders in finding innovative solutions to the unprecedented challenges caused by COVID-19,” HAP President and CEO Andy Carter said in a press release. “These awards recognize the exceptional health care teams that developed creative strategies to meet their communities’ needs and address issues such as vaccine access, racial disparities in vaccination, and medical supply chain disruptions.”

The top three award-winners are:

• The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which led a partnership to facilitate early access to COVID-19 vaccines for school and childcare employees with a focus on enabling schools and childcare providers to resume in-person operations while helping to protect the health and safety of students and staff.
• The Allegheny Health Network, which was selected for two projects. One addressed shortages of N-95 respirators by developing a strategy for equipping staff with industrial respirators that could be sterilized and reused. The other was a campaign to stage mass vaccination events across the greater Pittsburgh region with a commitment to ensuring access for marginalized and historically underserved communities.
• Penn Medicine and Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, which partnered on a project to address racial inequities in vaccine access by establishing rotating community vaccine clinics throughout the greater Philadelphia region that addressed environmental, socio-economic, and technology-related barriers to vaccine access.

The other health systems placing in the top 10 are Evangelical Community Hospital, Guthrie Healthcare, Jefferson Health, the Lehigh Valley Health Network, Main Line Health, and WellSpan Health.