The Cardinal Health Foundation announced that it has awarded Penobscot Community Health Care grant funding from its Generation Rx Best Practices in Pain Management program. Penobscot Community Health Care is one of 10 healthcare organizations that received a one-year grant to create measurable action plans designed to modify opioid prescribing, increase patient engagement and improve outcomes for patients suffering from chronic, non-cancer pain. The grants are designed to help healthcare organizations better engage healthcare providers, patients and caregivers to reduce the number of opioids prescribed for pain.
Chief Pharmacy Officer, Dr. Felicity Homsted says “We’re very excited to receive this grant to expand the work we have been doing in controlled substance stewardship over the last five years. These funds will support work to improve proactive chronic pain management and reduce prescribing of opioids, when can be potentially harmful when used unnecessarily.”
Penobscot Community Health Care will also participate in a virtual learning collaborative led by chronic pain pharmacists at the Chronic Pain Clinic (CPC) at Geisinger Health in Danville, Pa. The CPC was established in 2012 to help chronic pain patients better manage their pain, while providing clinical and educational support for the health system’s physicians.
Geisinger’s chronic pain pharmacists work with the health system’s primary care physicians to increase safe prescribing, and find alternative treatment options when appropriate, which include non-opioid medications, physical therapy, acupuncture and/or behavioral therapy.
The virtual learning collaborative will help grantees develop similar collaborations with pharmacists and physicians in their community.
“Penobscot Community Health Care shares our goal of improving overall quality of care, increasing patient engagement and minimizing or finding alternatives to prescription opioids,” says Dianne Radigan, vice president of Community Relations at Cardinal Health. “We’re pleased to support Penobscot Community Health Care as it develops innovations in care for chronic pain patients; our hope is that their best practices can influence other healthcare systems around the country to help reduce opioid dependency.”
About Penobscot Community Health Care
Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC) is a non-profit, Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) founded in 1997 to ensure access to comprehensive, integrated primary health care services for all to improve the health and wellbeing of patients and the Maine communities served. PCHC is the largest FQHC in Maine and one of the largest and most comprehensive of the 100 FQHCs in New England. Sixteen practices and program service sites in the Bangor area, and in Belfast and Jackman, offer a wide range of services including family medicine, dental, pediatrics, geriatrics, mental health and substance abuse, specialty services, pharmacy and healthcare for the homeless. About 750 employees serve 65,000 patients annually. PCHC is accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare (AAAHC), certified by the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) for Patient-Centered Medical Home, and has received regional and national recognition as a leader among Community Health Centers.
About the Cardinal Health Foundation
The Cardinal Health Foundation supports local, national and international programs that improve health care efficiency, effectiveness and excellence and the overall wellness of the communities where Cardinal Health, Inc.’s (NYSE:CAH) more than 40,000 employees live and work. The Cardinal Health Foundation also offers grants to encourage community service among its employees and works through international agencies to donate much-needed medical supplies and funding to those who need them in times of disaster; because Cardinal Health, Inc. is #AllInForGood. To learn more, visit www.CardinalHealth.com/community and visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CardinalHealthFoundation.
About Generation Rx
Generation Rx works to end prescription drug misuse through prevention education, drug take back, best practices in pain management and community collaborations. The program was created through a partnership with the Cardinal Health Foundation and The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. Since 2009, more than one million people across the country have been reached with Generation Rx messages, and pharmacists in 40 states have been honored with the Generation Rx Champions Award. To learn more, visit www.GenerationRx.org.
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