The American Refugee Committee (ARC) has won the prestigious 2012 Peter F. Drucker Award in the nonprofit category for its grass-roots "I Am a Star" program. The initiative engages the Somali community in Minnesota and around the globe to help shape ARC's response in order to strengthen the Somali community here and abroad.
Minneapolis-based ARC credits local Somali business- people, hundreds of volunteers as well as corporate-partners such as UCare, Greater Twin Cities United Way, Mosaic Co. and General Mills. ARC topped a field of 614 nonprofit nominees for the award, which includes a $100,000 prize.
"This award is a real tribute to the incredible work of the global Somali diaspora, who have co-created 'I Am a Star,'" said ARC President Daniel Wordsworth. "There are people all around the world who are ready to work together across geographic and cultural distances to help tackle some of the world's biggest challenges."
The Star program has expanded globally -- engaging Somali communities in the United States, Norway, Sweden, Malaysia and the United Kingdom -- to help provide relief in Somalia, home to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. For 30 years, ARC has worked through 2,000 staff members, businesses and countless volunteers to help the indigent and dislocated of Africa and Asia. More information: www.ARCrelief.org.
AFTER 7-YEAR EFFORT, HCMC GOES PAPERLESS
Hennepin County Medical Center has gone paperless, capping a $110 million, seven-year effort by the state's largest public hospital. The computerized system has improved care and saved taxpayers money, HCMC officials said.
"It's important from the technology perspective, but it's also impacting patient care outcomes, patient safety and, in the end, the patient experience and patient satisfaction," said Joanne Sunquist, HCMC's chief information officer. "That's the main reason you do it."
The hospital and its clinics use an electronic health records system that incorporates patient information with lab results, prescriptions, X-rays and other digital images, and allows a doctor to get a real-time view of a patient's chart. It also ties in claims and billing data.
Earlier this month, HCMC became the first Twin Cities hospital system to be recognized by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, which does an on-site test of the system before awarding hospitals with its pinnacle achievement.
