Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) has announced the two winners of its Bears Den Innovation Challenge: Decreasing Length of Stay.
The winners were picked from among 70 high-level submissions from across the healthcare system’s network. Following the recent presentation of six finalists to the executive team and board members, it was determined the two projects would be further developed and piloted to determine the impact on decreasing patient length of stay.
“Hackensack Meridian Health is always looking for innovative ways to improve – and make our patients better,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “By looking to our incredible thousands of team members from across the state, we are finding ways to organically improve our entire operation, idea by idea, and insight by insight.’”
The Bear’s Den Innovation Program is an accelerator at Hackensack Meridian Health enlisting a panel of experts to evaluate inspirational healthcare ideas, inventions, and strategies from entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, healthcare partners, and HMH’s own team members. The Bear’s Den helps make great concepts a reality through strategic partnerships, funding, and other support, and its quarterly meetings are thought-provoking dialogues challenging the status quo to set better health care standards in New Jersey – and beyond.
“The Bear’s Den program is an invaluable way to harness the expertise of our incredible team members,” said Ihor Sawczuk, M.D., FACS, Hackensack Meridian Health’s president of Academics, Research and Innovation, founding chair of the Hackensack Meridian Health Research Institute, and also associate dean of Clinical Integration and professor and chair emeritus of Urology at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.
The two winners are:
These ideas will be implemented as either network-wide changes, or in pilot programs to test their effectiveness.
“These ideas come from real clinical experience. We expect they will have a huge impact on our care locations in the future,” said Sandra Powell-Elliott, vice president and chief innovation and commercialization officer at Hackensack Meridian Health.
Launched in 2017, the Bear’s Den features a panel of experts, including Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Garrett, leading physicians, key network executives, venture capitalists, patent attorneys, who gather regularly to vet proposals from entrepreneurs. The health network’s novel incubator has vetted many products and strategies to streamline care delivery, reduce infections, lower hospital readmissions and help patients partner in their care with physicians. The program has also invested in promising innovative companies.
To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.
Related Articles: