Contact: Dennis Tartaglia/Kelly Peterson
212/481-7000
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., December 19, 2006 -- The New York State Health Accountability Foundation has received prestigious awards for its Web site and for a publicity campaign, conducted in collaboration with public relations agency M Booth & Associates, for the launch of its first New York State Health Care Report Card. The Foundation, a private-public partnership dedicated to promoting transparency in the health care system, was founded by IPRO and the New York Business Group on Health, and is directed by an Advisory Council of major New York employers.
"It is integral to our mission to promote public reporting and disseminate quality data to the business community and consumers," said Spencer Vibbert, Vice President, Communications and Corporate Development, IPRO. "It is gratifying that our efforts are receiving this recognition."
The Foundation's Web site, www.AboutHealthQuality.org, was recognized with the 2006 eHealthcare Leadership Award for Best Quality Communications, Gold Level. The eHealthcare Leadership Awards are presented annually by eHealthcare Strategy Trends, a leading Internet publication.
The Foundation site includes a user-friendly interactive version of the Health Care Report Card. By clicking on www.AboutHealthQuality.org, employers and consumers can search within each of New York's counties, compare the performance of the county's HMOs and hospitals across a range of health conditions and procedures, and contrast this performance with state and national averages. Each hospital's and HMO's individual performance on all quality, financial and utilization measures - including HMO premiums and average "list" charges, Medicaid reimbursement and length of stay for hospitals -- can also be viewed.
"Our goal is to promote greater transparency in health care purchasing, and both the site and our communications programs have helped achieve this objective," said Laurel Pickering, Executive Director, New York Business Group on Health. "Our new report card has been viewed thousands of times. We are thrilled that the report card and our campaign to publicize it have received this additional external validation."
The Foundation and M Booth & Associates were recognized with a Platinum MarCom Creative Award in the Publicity Campaign category for their media relations program on the June 2006 launch of the report card. The MarComs, which are administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, receive more than 5,000 entries, about 15% of which receive Platinum Awards. M Booth serves as agency for record for IPRO, has worked with the Foundation since 1997, and launched seven editions of the Foundation's HMO Report Card, the predecessor to the current report card. This year's report card was covered in more than 70 news stories, resulting in over 220,000 page views of www.AboutHealthQuality.org in the week after its press launch.
About the New York State Health Accountability Foundation IPRO, an independent organization that evaluates and works to improve the quality of health care services, and the New York Business Group on Health, New York's leading business coalition for health policy and information, are founding sponsors of the New York State Health Accountability Foundation. The Foundation was started with grants from the New York State Department of Health and New York State Legislature and receives continuing funding from the Legislature. It is guided by an Employer Advisory Council that includes Jennifer Harnish, Manager, Benefit Solutions, Hannaford Brothers, Inc.; Louise HF Ionescu, Director, Employee Benefits, Human Resources, New York City Transit; Lisa Polk, Director, Health Benefits Program, The City of New York. Michelle Scheiner, Director, Health & Welfare Benefits, CBS Corporation; and Shelley J. Sinclair, Vice President, Benefits Planning, The Bank of New York.