ProjectNews: The Official eNewsletter of ProjectWorld & The World Congress for Business Analysts USA

Welcome to the May 2006 issue of ProjectNews. If you are receiving this newsletter, but have not yet subscribed to our complimentary newsletter, please click on the following link to subscribe: http://www.iirusa.com/optin

If you have any colleagues or friends you think would be interested, please feel free to forward this email along!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROJECT OF THE MONTH 
May's Featured Project: Texas Children's Hospital: Project Medical Home
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overview
The Texas Children's Hospital project was launched specifically to establish community-based pediatric practices that provide access to quality care, regardless of patients' ability to pay. Project Medical Home provides crucial medical services such as immunizations, preventive health care, infant care, adolescent care, physicals, health education, and hearing and vision screening.

Problem

Emergency room (ER) use was on the rise in areas such as those near Cullen, Ripley House, and Gulfton centers. For non-emergent care, this is inefficient and costly for hospitals and payers and it doesn't provide children with the best care. By creating a program which can treat non-emergency patients on a primary care level, Texas Children's Hospital found a way to reduce these costs.

The Plan

Project Medical Home began in response to a 1999 Texas Children's Hospital survey that found pediatric health care providers were scarce in certain zip codes. The survey showed that areas near the Cullen, Ripley House and Gulfton centers represented nearly 15 percent of the total emergency room visits to Texas Children's.

TCPA is dedicated to providing a pediatric health care delivery environment that promotes integrity, enthusiasm, satisfaction and pride in accomplishment for physicians, their staff and the families they serve. On Wednesday, January 12, 2005, Texas Children's Hospital announced the opening of Texas Children's Pediatric Associates – Gulfton, a pediatric primary care practice aimed at the uninsured or the underinsured. The new practice was established through Texas Children's Hospital Project Medical Home Initiative.

Project Medical Home Today

Since it's inception, Texas Children's Pediatric Associates has added new practices, more than 700 physician and staff, as well as constructed new buildings and launched new initiatives. Over the past 10 years, the practices have grown to 42 sites.

All three main centers have bilingual staff, extended hours and a pediatrician on-call 24 hours a day. Most importantly, the practices provide a consistent pediatrician with whom patients can develop a trusted, long-term bond.

Ayse McCracken, President of Texas Children's Pediatric Associates said of Project Medical Home - "We are pleased to offer accessible, affordable health care to families in these underserved communities."

Interested in ProjectWorld? You'll also enjoy...

- PDMA & IIR present the 4th Annual Front End of Innovation. May 22-24, 2006 in Boston, MA. http://www.iirusa.com/frontend

- Project Risk Symposium 2006. May 22-25, 2006 in Houston, TX.

http://www.iirusa.com/projectrisk

- PDMA & IIR present Team NPD. July 17-19, 2006 in Keystone, Colorado.
http://www.iirusa.com/npdteam

** Please use priority code: (i2) when registering!