Press Releases: Georgia
June 17, 2005
Kaiser Permanente of Georgia Receives National Grant to Implement Immunization Program
ATLANTA, Ga. /PRNewswire/ – America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) has awarded Kaiser Permanente of Georgia with a $50,000 grant to implement a five-year innovative project to assist the State of Georgia in improving immunization rates among the state's adolescents.
The award, provided through an unrestricted educational grant by Sanofi Pasteur, was made at the largest annual gathering of industry professionals — AHIP's Annual Institute and Display Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Grant funding will enable Kaiser Permanente to partner with the State of Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR) to share best practices for improving statewide immunization rates through the state's GRITS (Georgia Registry of Immunization Transactions and Services) immunization registry.
Kaiser Permanente's grant application stood out in creating a framework for success because of its collaboration with the State of Georgia, community providers, and the support of pediatric "blitz teams." The key work was providing shots to adolescents where they access care.
In this program, success will be measured by an overall increase in statewide adolescent immunization rates reported by health insurance plans and public health officials, as well as improvements in the annual rate of community family practitioner transactions with GRITS to meet the national Healthy People 2010 goals of 90 percent immunized. For several years, Kaiser Permanente has maintained the state's best immunization rates.
AHIP also awarded the Neighborhood Health Plan in Boston, Massachusetts, with a $30,000 grant, in conjunction with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, to implement an asthma program that integrates the management of environmental risk factors into asthma care management.
"Our annual grants program builds on years of innovation throughout our industry," said AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni. "Health insurance plans continue to lead the way in quality improvement initiatives, and AHIP is proud to support our members as they work toward creating a better health care system for all Americans."
Kaiser Permanente is the state of Georgia's largest nonprofit health plan, serving the health care needs of Atlanta metro area residents for 22 years. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, Inc. currently provides comprehensive health care services to approximately 275,000 members through 15 medical facilities in a 28-county service, and a network of affiliated hospitals and physicians. The Health Plan provided more than $5 million in community benefit programs and services.
