[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 118 (Thursday, July 20, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         SHRINERS HOSPITALS HONORED WITH PRESTIGIOUS NOVA AWARD

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                           HON. HAROLD ROGERS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 20, 1995
  Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Speaker, the Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children 
have always been recognized for the quality medical care they deliver 
in their 22 orthopaedic and burn hospitals located throughout North 
America. Recently, I was pleased to learn that the Shriners Hospitals 
have been honored for their latest initiative as the 1995 recipient of 
the prestigious NOVA Award sponsored by the American Hospital 
Association.
  Since being founded almost 75 years ago, the Shriners Hospitals have 
been providing completely free care to their young patients without any 
Government payments, any insurance payments or payments from any third 
party. All expenses are covered through the generosity of the American 
people.
  The Shriners Hospitals have received the 1995 NOVA Award for their 
innovative CHOICES program. CHOICES is the acronym for Children's 
Health Care Options Improved through Collaborative Efforts and 
Services, and it represents a new era of public-private partnership in 
the delivery of health care services.
  Launched in 1988 at the Shriners Hospital in Lexington, KY, in 
collaboration with the Kentucky Commission for Children with Special 
Health Care Needs, the CHOICES program coordinates the care of special 
needs children to avoid duplication of services for some and lack of 
care for others.
  CHOICES helps to fill this gap in services through facilitated 
referrals and coordinated care between the Shriners Hospitals and 
community-based government providers. At the conclusion of CHOICES' 
Phase I, 4 Shriners Hospitals and 10 State programs were participating 
in the partnership. Phase II will involve six more Shriners Hospitals 
and the States that they serve.
  The CHOICES program stands as an example of the type of creative, 
comprehensive response we need to meet the challenges of health care 
delivery for the 21st century. I am proud to congratulate the Shriners 
Hospitals for their forward looking approach and for their seven 
decades of commitment to the special children they serve.


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