Austin, TX (PRWEB) June 17, 2012

Today, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the CHRISTUS St Michael’s Health System has been awarded $ 1,600,000 for an Integrated Nurse Training and Mobile Device Harm Reduction Program. Ringful Health provided the technology strategy and grant development support for this application.

CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System and its project partners were selected for the grant to implement the Integrated Nurse Training and Mobile Device Harm Reduction Program (INTM) in Texarkana, TX, according to Mike Finley, M.D., Chief Regional Medicare Officer for CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System.

The INTM Program will help generate a potential savings of $ 3.5 million to CMS over the next three years by training nurses to recognize early warning signs of congestive heart failure (CHF) and sepsis among Medicare beneficiaries in nursing home facilities and patients in hospitals, who are vulnerable for certain preventable conditions, said Finley. We expect to experience reduced hospitalizations and readmissions due to CHF and sepsis, which simultaneously benefits patients and decreases costs. The INTM training, in combination with computerized clinical decision support systems loaded on mobile device tablets, is anticipated to result in a 20% reduction in readmissions from nursing home facilities for CHF and sepsis and fewer failure-to-rescue situations for those patients who are admitted to the hospital. The mobile devices, loaded with evidence-based protocols, will guide nurses through further patient assessment and actions once symptoms are detected. Ringful Health is a key partner in this effort helping support nurses with effective technology that enhances care.

Kim Johnson, Ringful Healths Chief Operating Officer stated: We are pleased to be the technology partner on this project. We believe that we are entering a new era where technology can provide enhanced support to nurses who are on the front lines of providing quality health care and proud to work with an innovative organization such as CHRISTUS St. Michael to make this a reality.

Dr. Finley continued, “We are excited to receive the opportunity to enhance training and care in the Texarkana area for patients who are among our most vulnerable population. Being selected for a health innovation grant speaks volumes about CHRISTUS St. Michaels dedication to advanced health care for the citizens of the Texarkana region, a tradition that reaches back to 1916, when the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word were invited to Texarkana to open Michael Meagher Memorial Hospital. Moreover, we are honored to be selected as an innovator in the delivery of health care with our efforts to strengthen disease management while reducing costs.