CodeBlueNow! and The Foundation for Health Care Quality

THE DISPATCH Issue: #06

December 4th, 2007

Greetings!

When CodeBlueNow! moved to a new building in downtown Seattle mainly populated by lawyers-we didn't expect to find new allies in health care reform a few flights below.

We're talking about The Foundation for Health Care Quality, which has dedicated itself for nearly 20 years to improving health care outcomes and has a long-standing, unique quality-care program. Read on to learn more about this cutting edge organization and what they are doing to improve health care quality and ultimately save lives.

Going Under the Knife: Be Glad If You Live in WA State

One of a Kind Nonprofit Research Firm Improves State's Health Care Outcomes

One of the deep, dark secrets in health care is the tremendous variation in the ways surgical procedures are performed and the results of these different approaches between surgeons and hospitals. This variation relates to the geographical region where you live, the medical training of your surgeon and standards that your hospital has for the procedures that are put in place. Variations exist in everything from use of expensive tests to rates of surgical complications. These variations require reoperations, hurt patients and cost the health care system a tremendous amount of money.

One group in Washington State is working on reducing this variation. Through the Surgical Care and Outcome Assessment Program (SCOAP), the Foundation for Health Care Quality (http://www.qualityhealth.org) not only reduces variations, it saves lives and reduces costs as well.

CodeBlueNow! on YouTube

And we want to post YOUR HEALTH CARE STORY!

CodeBlueNow!'s CEO and Founder, Kathleen O'Connor, recently sat down with Chad Reilly, of RSV Video Services, to discuss what CodeBlueNow! is all about. We've uploaded the clips to our YouTube account: www.youtube.com/CodeBlueNow .

Now it's your turn. We want to hear your story in video format. Here's how:

Upload your health care story on your YouTube account (free to sign up) and send us the link to your site via YouTube or info@codebluenow.org OR
Send us your video clip (5 minutes or less, MPEG4 (DIVX or XVid) format, 30 frames/second, mp3 audio, 680x460 resolution) and we'll upload it for you.

It's time for our voices and our stories to be heard! Join us on YouTube and spread the word!

Stay in Touch

CodeBlueNow! Wants to Hear From You!

Coming up in the next two months, CodeBlueNow! will be hosting online discussions via our website as well as taking your stories from YouTube and email. This is your chance to be heard: email us at info@codebluenow.org.

Stay posted for more ways to get involved in the coming months. Your participation will make a difference!

Cheers and more later,

Kathleen