Seattle Business magazine recognizes Swedish for Outstanding Community Outreach
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Clay Holtzman, Swedish, 206-386-2748, clay.holtzman@swedish.org
Swedish Honored at Leaders in Health Care 2014 Event
Seattle Business magazine recognizes Swedish for Outstanding Community Outreach
SEATTLE — Feb. 25, 2014 — Swedish Health Services’ Community Benefits Program received the Outstanding Community Outreach award at Seattle Business magazine’s fifth annual Leaders in Health Care awards celebration. The largest and most comprehensive non-profit health provider in the Pacific Northwest, Swedish is known for creating high-impact community outreach programs such as the Swedish Community Specialty Clinic and Global to Local (G2L).
The Leaders in Health Care awards honor 25 outstanding organizations in eight categories, ranging from medical research to lifetime achievement. The Outstanding Community Outreach award recognizes organizations that are committed to developing and implementing original programs that improve the health of local communities.
“It is an honor to be recognized with such a prestigious award,” said Tom Gibbon, manager of the Swedish Community Specialty Clinic and Ballard High School Teen Clinic. “It showcases years of work that not only benefits the most vulnerable populations in our community, but also offers sustainable and replicable solutions that will change how care is delivered.”
The Swedish Community Benefits Program evaluates public health data and collaborates with local organizations to produce initiatives that address a wide range of community health needs in the Pacific Northwest. Since 2006, Swedish has launched more than 15 initiatives. Programs such as the Swedish Community Specialty Clinic and Global to Local exist to combat long-term challenges while addressing immediate health care needs.
The Swedish Community Specialty Clinic works in partnership with Project Access Northwest to identify, screen, and refer uninsured or underinsured patients to receive specialty medical care, ranging from occupational therapy to cardiac surgery, as well as complex dental extractions. This specialty care is provided to patients free of charge by more than 300 volunteer physicians, dentists and other providers. More than 1,250 specialty medical and surgical patients and 2,000 dental patients received care in 2012.
Global to Local, created through a partnership between Swedish, HealthPoint, Public Health—Seattle & King County, the Washington Global Health Alliance and the cities of SeaTac and Tukwila, builds on the expertise of Washington state’s global health institutions to bring strategies that have proven effective in developing countries to underserved communities in SeaTac/Tukwila. During the past 18 months, G2L has launched a number of community-driven solutions to provide access to health care and drive economic development in these diverse, low-income populations. To date, G2L has touched more than 2,000 community members and 30+ community organizations have joined the cause.
The Swedish Community Benefits Program works closely with local organizations committed to improving health trends in the region such as the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, Lifelong AIDS Alliance, March of Dimes, National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Senior Services.
More information about Swedish’s Community Benefits Program can be found here.
About Swedish
Swedish has grown over the last 103 years to become the largest non-profit health provider in the Greater Seattle area. It is comprised of five hospital campuses (First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Edmonds and Issaquah); ambulatory care centers in Redmond and Mill Creek; and Swedish Medical Group, a network of more than 100 primary care and specialty clinics located throughout the Greater Puget Sound area. In addition to general medical and surgical care including robotic-assisted surgery, Swedish is known as a regional referral center, providing specialized treatment in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer care, neuroscience, orthopedics, high-risk obstetrics, pediatric specialties, organ transplantation and clinical research. In 2012, Swedish provided more than $130 million in community benefit in Western Washington. For more information, visit www.swedish.org, www.facebook.com/swedishmedicalcenter, or www.twitter.com/swedish.
