CHI Saint Joseph foundations awarded grants to fight opioid and heroin epidemic

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019 — Three foundations connected with the CHI Saint Joseph Healthcare system have been awarded a total of $37,500 in grants from the Kentucky Health Information Exchange (KHIE). These grants will support continued efforts in battling the opioid and heroin crisis in Kentucky.

Each of three hospitals — Saint Joseph London, Saint Joseph Berea and Flaget Memorial Hospital — will each receive $12,500 to support their participation in the Syndromic Surveillance Data Improvement Project. The hospitals will use the grant funds to offset the cost of improving syndromic surveillance connections, upgrading connection feeds through modification or upgrades to Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, or other technical barriers identified by the hospital.

“Our teams are grateful for this show of support for our continued work in curbing the terrible plague of opioid and heroin-related overdoses and deaths,” said Leslie Buddeke Smart, CFRE, president, CHI Saint Joseph Health Foundations. “Advanced technologies funded by the KHIE grants will give each facility the capability to capture and communicate opioid and heroin-related data with national health organizations in real time.”

The grant is provided by funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the Kentucky Department for Public Health.

The grant is part of a project that aims to increase rapid surveillance of opioid and heroin overdoses and improve hospital data received by the National Syndromic Surveillance Program. These improvements will also allow doctors to quickly recognize and respond to emerging medical threats that could affect the public.

-30-