Hennepin Healthcare awarded top quality improvement honor by national hospital association

America’s Essential Hospitals, a national trade association, has recognized Hennepin Healthcare for its work to provide early intervention for patients experiencing an illness on the schizophrenia spectrum.

“Being recognized with a national Gage Award for Quality means the rest of the country will see how our Healing and Opportunities with Psychotic Experiences (HOPE) Program is bringing targeted, team-based interventions to patients experiencing a schizophrenia-spectrum illness,” said Jennifer DeCubellis, Hennepin Healthcare CEO. “This is an urgent need today and I hope other health systems and communities can learn from how we are helping individuals and families cope effectively and successfully navigate the road to recovery, in essence, creating HOPE.”

America’s Essential Hospitals represents 300 hospitals that care for low-income and other marginalized people.

“Our members excel at programs that fill critical gaps in care, and the health systems we honor today exemplify that work,” said Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, president and CEO of America’s Essential Hospitals. “These awards not only spotlight the best of the best but also help spread practices that improve care for all people.”

The HOPE Program provides early intervention for patients ages 15 to 40 experiencing an illness on the schizophrenia spectrum. Program staff educate and collaborate with local organizations to provide referrals. An interdisciplinary team provides empirically based treatment and patients set treatment goals. Resources include creativity and behavioral activation groups, and semiannual “Friend and Family Nights.” Multifamily groups focus on education, effective communication, emotional normalization, and validation from family peers. The program launched in 2016 through a federal mental health block grant.

The Gage Awards, named after association founder Larry Gage, honor and share successful and creative member hospital programs that improve patient care and meet community needs. The quality improvement award recognizes activities focused on social determinants of health.

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About Hennepin Healthcare

Hennepin Healthcare is an integrated system of care that includes HCMC, a nationally recognized Level I Adult Trauma Center and Level I Pediatric Trauma Center and acute care hospital, as well as a clinic system with primary care clinics located in Minneapolis and across Hennepin County. The comprehensive healthcare system includes a 473-bed academic medical center, a large outpatient Clinic & Specialty Center, and a network of clinics in the North Loop, Whittier, and East Lake Street neighborhoods of Minneapolis, and in the suburban communities of Brooklyn Park, Golden Valley, Richfield, and St. Anthony Village. Hennepin Healthcare has a large psychiatric program, home care, and operates a research institute, philanthropic foundation, and Hennepin EMS. The system is operated by Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc., a subsidiary corporation of Hennepin County.