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Poudre Valley Hospital’s Community Case Management Program in Fort Collins, Colo., received the 2009 Magnet Prize.

This is the highest honor the American Nurses Credentialing Center bestows within the Magnet community. Program staff were honored at the opening session of the 2009 National Magnet conference Oct. 1 in Louisville, Ky.

The Magnet Prize recognizes organizations with unique programs in which innovative action transforms nursing practice — interventions and outcomes benefit the nursing profession as a whole and have direct impact on patients in various settings. Cerner Corporation has partnered with ANCC since 2007 to sponsor this prestigious $25,000 award.

ANCC praised Poudre Valley Hospital program’s staff for pioneering work in community outreach and for a track record of reducing costs and improving outcomes in managing patients with complex chronic conditions. Nurses and social workers at this facility have collaborated for 14 years to develop and sustain the Community Case Management Program to provide a continuum of care that focuses on prevention and improves the ability of patients, families, and providers to work together to manage chronic disease.

The program targets patients with inadequate support systems and financial resources and offers them a safety net to deal with issues that may otherwise result in visits to the ED or healthcare provider. What’s more, it helps patients continue living in their own homes.

In a statement about the Poudre Valley program, ANCC noted that it is financially supported by the health system without grants or limitations on services.
By reducing unnecessary ED visits and hospital stays, the program has shown cost savings well above the cost to maintain it.