Cardinal Health Foundation, a community relations wing of Cardinal Health (CAH), recently revealed that it will confer, for the fifth straight year, over $1 million in grants to support efforts by U.S. health care entities to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care. The Cardinal Health Foundation has, since 2008, handed out 147 grants aggregating over $4.25 million to improve patient care.
The Foundation encourages E3 Grant Program applicants to submit proposals for funding projects, which will enhance safety of medication, in such situations as when patients are shifted from hospital to residence, or for projects which will lead to better safety in the operating room through the utilization of World Health Organization (“WHO”) checklists. Applications for E3 grants must be submitted at the Cardinal Health website by December 2, 2011.
In addition to grants, recipients engaged in surgical errors will receive access to coaching from the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (“AORN”). Grantees engaged in medication safety projects will receive support from the Cardinal Health Pharmacy Solutions team.
The Foundation encourages applicants to consult the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Web-based Improvement Map for generating ideas to improve medication safety. Applicants for grants to enhance OR safety are advised to consult the AORN website for ideas regarding best practices. Applicants for grants may locate summaries from winning E3 Grant Program proposals on the website of Cardinal Health.
The Cardinal Health Foundation will hold a couple of webinars to consider program criteria and give potential grantees a chance to ask questions regarding the E3 Grant Program application process. These webinars will be held on October 18-19 at 2.30 pm EST. The company has already announced access numbers.
Cardinal Health is ranked on the Fortune 500. With $103 billion in sales, Cardinal Health remains one of the largest distributors of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in the U.S., with a diversified product portfolio, which may partly insulate it from the current economic uncertainty. The company stands to gain from the gradual shift in mix from the bulk to the higher-margin non-bulk sector of the Pharmaceutical segment. It is also riding the generic wave. Overall, Cardinal is benefiting from a spate of tuck-in acquisitions and capital deployment strategies.
However, the company faces tough competition across all its business segments, which may continue to pressure pricing and margins. Its major competitors in the pharmaceutical supply chain segment include McKesson Corp. (MCK) and AmerisourceBergen Corp. (ABC). We currently have a long-term Outperform rating on Cardinal supported by a short-term Zacks #2 Rank (Buy).
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