The Joint Commission and the American Case Management Association (ACMA) announced the selection of Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital, Whittier, Calif., as the winner of the 2012 Franklin Award of Distinction. Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital’s Care Management program provides a team-based approach to case management for the integrated health system’s patients and the community. Presbyterian Intercommunity was chosen based on its commitment to patient-centered care and holistic management. The model provides for common policies and procedures, electronic case management tools, and a collaborative practice approach which includes nurses, social workers, physicians, patients, caregivers and the community. Care Management’s clear delineation of roles and responsibilities across all team disciplines ensures timely and effective coordination of care at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital. The Care Management program relies on the power of partnerships built throughout the continuum. In addition to the collaborative program developed by Home Health and Care Management to address congestive heart failure hospital readmissions, the organization’s funding of a nurse practitioner position at a homeless shelter has reduced homeless patients’ unnecessary admissions. The organization’s post hospital discharge clinic has also been successful in reducing preventable readmissions. Read the entire news release. (Contact: Jean Range, jrange@jointcommission.org)