The CMS Innovation Center has announced the first batch of preliminary awardees for the Health Care Innovation Awards. These organizations will implement projects in communities across the nation that aim to deliver better health, improved care and lower costs to people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), particularly those with the highest health care needs. Projects are funded for three years. The list will be updated as additional projects are selected. The next batch of preliminary awardees will be announced in early June 2012. See the list of current awardees here.

Congratulations to Upper San Juan Health Service District in Pagosa Springs, CO for their award of $1.7 million!

The Upper San Juan Health Service District is receiving an award to expand access to specialists and improve the quality of acute care in rural and remote areas of southwestern Colorado. Their care delivery model will offer cardiovascular early detection and wellness programs, implement a telemedicine acute stroke care program, use telemedicine and remote diagnostics for cardiologist consultations, and upgrade and retrain its Emergency Medical Services Division (EMS) to manage urgent care transports and in-home follow-up patient care for over 3400 patients in medically underserved areas in Southwest Colorado.

The program will provide access to cardiologists and neurologists and is expected to reduce cardiovascular risk, improve patient outcomes, create healthier communities, and reduce health care costs with estimated savings of approximately $8.1 million. Over the three-year period, the Upper San Juan Health Service District’s program will train an estimated 25 paramedics and telehealth clinicians and create 13 new jobs. These workers will provide a new type of clinical team that will improve care outcomes for rural cardiovascular patients.