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HRET Health Research & Educational Trust of New Jersey
ResearchHRET Community Outreach Awards
Background
The New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) is committed to proactively guiding hospitals and community leaders to develop partnerships addressing needs of their community members. The Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey (HRET), a nonprofit affiliate of NJHA, established the Hospital Award for Community Outreach activities in 1991 to recognize hospital-initiated programs that demonstrate prospective identification, creative response, active collaboration and successful fulfillment of community needs.
The Community Outreach Award was founded on the belief that the partnerships between a hospital and its community are necessary to build and sustain health. The development of integrated "community care networks" enables hospitals to collaborate with communities to emphasize prevention and minimize illness. Through hospital community outreach programs the infrastructure is created to bring about changes needed to attain improved health and well being for the community.
In an effort to make awards reflective of programs that address major healthcare issues in our communities today, the award categories were changed in 2005 and 2006. Every year, HRET recognizes best community achievements based on community partnerships and innovative programs/services focusing on three themes: Preventing Disease and Injury; Improving Access and Quality of Care; and Reducing Healthcare Disparities. In each theme, different population categories may be the target of health improvement interventions including children, the elderly and those with special needs (i.e. indigent, minorities, women, patients with disabilities, addictions or specific diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS or chronic conditions). Following a recommendation from an independent panel of judges to make our selection process more objective and fair, accomplishments of four programs are recognized: three awards for programs with a budget more than $50,000, one on each of the above major themes; and one award for programs with a budget less than $50,000 on any of above major themes.
Through a competitive process, HRET's Community Outreach Award Program calls NJHA member hospitals to enter innovative collaborative programs that address identified healthcare needs and barriers in their communities. A distinguished panel of independent judges representing various healthcare and community providers and professionals, selects the winner in each award category/theme. The winners are publicly acknowledged at NJHA Annual meetings and NJHA newsletters and other publications and forums.
Criteria
Entries may be submitted by all New Jersey member hospitals for all themes. To enter, a project or program must implement healthcare improvement strategies on an ongoing basis focusing on community service and patient care. Short-term/one-day programs and special events were not eligible to apply. The themes and categories as well as restrictions may change each year in the future. Programs must have been implemented during the past year, or must have been active during this period if implemented in previous years. Hospitals that submitted an entry in one year but are not chosen to receive an award may resubmit that entry for the following years if the program is still in progress and is relevant to that year's themes. For each program submitted, applicants may only choose one theme that best describes their program. One winner will be selected for each theme by a panel of independent judges representing various healthcare and community providers and professionals.
Selection criteria include social significance and measurable impact on health status of the community, originality and innovative design, implementation and evaluation, and collaboration demonstrating partnership with healthcare agencies, community organizations, learning institutions and others interested in healthy communities.
Recognition
The winners and all other entrants will be notified of the results prior to the awards presentation. The awards will be presented at the NJHA Annual Meetings. The winners will receive a specially designed crystal reflecting the concept and spirit of the award and recognition in NJHA/HRET publications.
Application
A complete application consists of ONE original and FIVE copies. All criteria specified in the Call for Entries form MUST be included in your submission to be eligible to qualify.
To keep submission format simple and consistent, hospitals are requested to staple their materials and are not to use binders or folders. Applications should be sent to HRET Research Department at 760 Alexander Road, P.O. Box 1, Princeton, NJ 08543-0001.
Deadlines
Application deadlines vary each year and are announced in Call for Entries and NJHA newsletter.
Publications - Directory of Community Outreach Awards
For More Information
Call HRET Research Department at (609) 275-4145.
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