Nominations open for 2010 Health Care Stars! Awards

The second annual Health Care Stars! Awards will recognize significant contributions in positively impacting consumers and health care quality. URAC, the nation's leading health care accreditation organization, today announced that nominations are open for the awards which will be presented at the 11th Annual Quality Summit being held October 5-7, 2010 in Chicago, IL.

Nominations will be accepted at http://webapps.urac.org/uracstars/login.asp beginning May 14, 2010 through June 18, 2010. The awards are open to any individual who works for the more than 570 organizations that have earned or are in the process of earning accreditation in any of the 27 URAC accreditation programs.

"It is the individual health care professionals along the continuum of care who really deliver on the mission of empowering consumers and promoting quality care through their daily work," said Alan P. Spielman, president and CEO of URAC. "URAC's Health Care Stars! Awards strive to recognize those individuals who consistently go above and beyond to protect and empower consumers."

The Health Care Stars! Awards will be judged by a panel of health care industry experts including URAC advisory committee members, board members and key leaders from accredited organizations.  Recipients of the 2009 Health Care Stars! Awards were Karen Maslanik, a Premera Blue Cross behavioral health case manager, Dr. Robert Nease, vice president of marketing and chief scientist for Express Scripts, and Julia Rieve, a catastrophic nurse case manager for Coventry Health.

The winners and all nominees will be honored at an awards ceremony during URAC's 11th Annual Quality Summit. In addition to recognition from their peers, winners will receive travel and lodging accommodations in Chicago to receive their award.

Individuals can be nominated in one of two categories:

• Consumer Protection – Demonstrating commitment to patient safety and the welfare of health care consumers. Examples include saving and improving lives and preventing adverse health outcomes.
• Consumer Empowerment – Proven contribution to enhancing consumer decision making and/or consumer health care adherence to appropriate therapy.