- Santa Claus Plans Early Visit to Sheppard School
Students to receive gifts from Santa and Independence Blue Cross 'elves' on Monday
Philadelphia, PA - December 19, 2008 - Santa Claus is coming to town early for the students at the Isaac A. Sheppard School in North Philadelphia, courtesy of the elves at Independence Blue Cross (IBC). Santa will make the pre-Christmas stop on Monday, December 22, 2008.
Santa will visit the 280 students in kindergarten through fourth grade at the Sheppard School during the annual "Santa Day." Each child will receive an early holiday gift - wrapped and individually labeled with his or her name - by Santa Claus himself.
The Sheppard School will also receive a gift on Santa Day. Joseph A. Frick, Independence Blue Cross president and CEO, will present a SMART board (an interactive whiteboard) to the school.
Santa Day is an annual tradition. Each year, hundreds of IBC associates donate new holiday gifts for the Sheppard School students. To surprise the students with Santa's arrival, a collection of undercover IBC elves wrap, pack, and secretly ship the gifts to the Sheppard School before the event.
In addition to the 300 gifts for each of the Sheppard School students, IBC collected 300 coats for the school to give to its students on an as-needed basis.
For more than a decade, IBC has been a corporate sponsor of Sheppard School - a 98 percent poverty level school. IBC offers additional support through the Philadelphia Reads Power Partners program, beautification projects, and other programs to provide the students with academic and social support.
- Independence Blue Cross Extends Funding to Enhance Patient Safety at Area Hospitals
Commitment of $3 million through 2011 to the Partnership for Patient Care
Philadelphia, PA - December 16, 2008 - Independence Blue Cross announced today that it will extend its support for the Partnership for Patient Care, a quality and patient safety effort led by southeastern Pennsylvania hospitals, with funding of $3 million through 2011. The funding will be provided to the Health Care Improvement Foundation, a nonprofit health and safety organization that oversees the Partnership's projects. Matching funds will be raised from the hospital community in 2009, reflecting the Partnership's broad-based commitment to accelerating the implementation of evidence-based clinical practices.
Launched in 2006 with IBC's three-year financial support of $1.25 million, the Partnership initially focused on the prevention of hospital-acquired infections. Nearly every area hospital has participated in a number of Partnership initiatives that promote the use of evidence-based best practices to improve the quality and safety of health care in our region. In addition, a 2003 hospital effort supported by IBC, to improve medication safety at area hospitals, became a nationally recognized model for enhancing the quality of patient care.
"I congratulate IBC for once again showing its strong commitment to working with hospitals on making our region one of the safest places in the country to receive care," said Kate Flynn, president of the Health Care Improvement Foundation. "We are looking forward to the continued progress and success of the Partnership for Patient Care on future projects that tackle many of our region's most vital health care concerns."
"The Partnership for Patient Care unites health care professionals with a common goal to make health care safer for everybody. It also reaffirms the fact that when many different stakeholders work together as one the quality of care for all can only improve," said Joseph A. Frick, Independence Blue Cross president and chief executive officer. "We are convinced this initiative will continue to provide our members with access to the highest level of care and we are proud to be a catalyst for these improvements. We also commend our hospital partners for their meaningful and collaborative participation in an effort that addresses serious threats to people's health."
Since the Partnership began, its projects have:
- improved adoption of processes that prevent surgical site infections, such as increased control of blood sugar levels in patients about to undergo surgery and optimized use of antibiotics before and after surgery;
- implemented best practices for the prevention of central line associated blood infections;
- helped prevent life-threatening blood clots that can develop during hospitalization;
- improved the prevention of patient falls and initiated region-wide standardization of falls reporting;
- enhanced monitoring of medications to prevent harmful drug interactions and dosing errors; and
- raised awareness about the threat of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) through the Fight MRSA! Alliance.
The Partnership is currently working on several projects, including preventing pressure ulcers and continuing to raise awareness about antibiotic-resistant staph infections through a new campaign called Students Fight MRSA.
Future initiatives will be centered on helping hospitals foster "high reliability" health care - the consistent delivery of safe, high-quality care that delivers the best possible experience for all patients. With this data-driven, behavioral science-informed approach, hospitals undergo rigorous, individualized analyses to identify patterns of weakness or vulnerability in their safety performance. These assessments detect the underlying factors limiting performance and suggest the most appropriate ways to address them.
Depending on the nature of the problem, safety improvements could take many forms, including staff education, new equipment or technology, revised safety practices, or enhanced measurement and accountability. Through this process, hospitals will develop long-term cultural and systemic changes to assure safety, rather than focusing on short-term initiatives that target narrow issues.
About Independence Blue Cross
Independence Blue Cross is a leading health insurer in southeastern Pennsylvania. IBC and its affiliates provide coverage to nearly 3.4 million people. For 70 years, Independence Blue Cross has offered high-quality health care coverage tailored to meet the changing needs of members, employers, and health care professionals. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans.
About The Health Care Improvement Foundation
The Health Care Improvement Foundation (HCIF) is an independent, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to building partnerships for better health care in southeastern Pennsylvania. With a multi-dimensional focus on health care safety - in patient care, environmental practices, and disaster preparedness - HCIF brings together diverse organizations to achieve regional collaboration and improvement.
- Independence Blue Cross Encourages Members to Enjoy a Favorite Winter Tradition in Philadelphia
Members can save on admission throughout the Blue Cross RiverRink's 15th season
Philadelphia, PA - November 25, 2008 - Independence Blue Cross (IBC) will sponsor the Blue Cross RiverRink at Penn's Landing for its 15th anniversary season, opening Thanksgiving weekend. The Blue Cross RiverRink offers three months of ice skating fun, a great way to enjoy the outdoors and to stay active this winter. IBC helps save members money by offering a $2 discount for those who show a member ID card.
This season, the Blue Cross RiverRink, an Olympic size rink overlooking the Delaware River, will celebrate its re-opening by hosting a Philly Sports Fan Pep Rally. The celebration begins at 12 p.m. on Friday, November 28, and features free activities for all ages including logo face-painting and free sports-themed activities such as football toss. Free activities will take place from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m., with regular skating continuing throughout the evening.
"We are excited to once again sponsor the Blue Cross RiverRink as it enters its 15th season," said Joseph A. Frick, president and CEO of IBC. "This is a place that offers the kind of family entertainment and healthy, outdoor fun that we continue to encourage among our members and associates. We are happy to continue our partnership with the Penn's Landing Corporation in sponsoring this great winter tradition that complements our ongoing promotion of healthy lifestyles for our members and the community."
Team mascots, sportscasters and radio personalities will cut the ribbon and invite everyone to join them on the ice for the first official public skating session of the season. Quintin Mikell, a young safety for the Philadelphia Eagles who was able to prove himself last season when injuries to Brian Dawkins and Sean Considine thrust him into the starting lineup, will make a personal appearance from 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Mikell was voted the Eagles special teams MVP in 2005 and 2006, and in 2007 he earned a four-year contract that will keep him in Philadelphia through 2010. As part of the pep rally celebration, families and Philadelphia sports fans of all ages are encouraged to wear their favorite team's jersey to receive $1 off of regular admission (this discount can not be paired with an IBC member discount).
On January 11, the Blue Cross RiverRink will also host IBC's Annual Healthy Kids Fest, a s
