A group of health care executives launched Hospital Charitable Service Awards, a program aimed at recognizing hospitals for innovative charitable service work. Charles Evans, the program's chairman, told DOTmed News that there is more to the initiative than just hospital recognition.

"The second objective is to build a database of programs from around the country and try to begin to identify best practices," Evans said. "What really works? What is the highest and best use of limited dollars that has an impact in the community? We hope it will be helpful to other hospitals as a resource," he said.

The board of the program will judge the self-nominated applicants based on five criteria: impact of the initiative on the community, innovation, transferability, best practice and collective approaches.
"We are trying to encourage hospitals to work together, even though they are competitors, they have a shared interest in terms of these community benefit projects," Evans said. "We're hoping to encourage additional collective effort."

At this point, all hospitals are being judged in one category. Facilities will be recognized throughout the year through the program's website, in addition to an annual formal recognition. The board set aside $100,000 for awards and plans to name ten winners. The funds from the awards will be appropriated to the charitable programs, Evans said.

The board of advisors for the Hospital Charitable Service Awards consists of former hospital executives. Evans said the board will use "a very broad definition of community" when considering nominees.

"It's possible that these programs will occur in other parts of the world. They may have mission activities in other countries that would quality them," he said.

With the program in place, the board members are now urging hospitals to submit an application for the award.

"Most of these hospitals have community board members, so we're hoping that the boards will take interest in their hospital applying," Evans said.

The program set up a website, www.hospitalcharitableserviceawards.org, to spread information about the initiative and the effective programs of the award recipients.

"We hope eventually that this website will be [a place] where a hospital or a committee looking at its charitable activities could go to and see some great ideas and things that could work," Evans said.

The Hospital Charitable Service Awards program is sponsored by Georgia-based Jackson Healthcare.