Providence Holy Cross Medical Center receives $500,000 grant from Verizon to improve hospital's efficiency

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center has embarked on a technology upgrade, funded by a $500,000 grant from Verizon, that will improve the hospital's efficiency, increase accuracy of patient records, and initiate health care outreach for uninsured Californians.

The two-year grant -- awarded by the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications -- was announced Friday (Jan. 8) at a reception attended by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, retired Assemblyman Keith Richman, and executives from Providence Health & Services, California, which operates the medical center.

"Verizon's generosity will help take Providence Holy Cross Medical Center into the future," said Arnold R. Schaffer, Providence Health & Services' senior vice president and regional chief executive. "And with our entire nation so focused on health care, this gift is a shining illustration of how private enterprise can work with health care providers in reaching out to those most in need."

The grant will fund a kiosk in the hospital's busy emergency room where patients will check themselves in, following instructions in either English or Spanish. The system will reduce the time people have to wait for treatment, increase the accuracy of medical records, and alert the staff to the most urgent cases so they are treated immediately.

The grant will also establish an outreach program to help uninsured patients find cost-effective primary health alternatives to treatment in the emergency room, and will enable the purchase of new software for computers in the medical center's 142-bed expansion, which is scheduled to open in 2011. The computer system will enable staff to print identification bracelets at a patient's bedside and help ensure all laboratory orders and tests are matched with the correct patient.

"I commend Verizon for its generosity and commitment to our community," Fuentes said. "Improving the delivery of health care services to the uninsured is an important contribution to the health care issue. At the same time, Verizon's donation will help relieve the pressure on the hospital's emergency room."

Verizon West Region President Tim McCallion said: "As our society debates ways to cost-effectively improve the nation's health care delivery system, Verizon will help Providence Holy Cross Medical Center to use technology to provide high-quality medical care for San Fernando Valley residents."