WOONSOCKET – The MinuteClinic retail-based health care division of CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) has been honored in the 2007 Connecticut Quality Improvement Awards with the entry-level CQIA Innovation Prize.
The prize recognizes innovative improvements in care and “accomplishments during the first stages of the quality journey for all organizations located in Connecticut,” MinuteClinic said.
The CQI awards were established in 1987 by The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership Inc. – a nonprofit alliance of businesspeople, educators, health care executives and government officials – using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria for Performance Excellence. Besides the Innovation Prize, the CQI awards include the mid-level Breakthrough Quality Award and the top Leadership Quality Award
MinuteClinic, based in Minneapolis, pioneered retail-based health care in the United States. It now has clinics in 20 states, including Connecticut, where it opened its first clinics last year.
It now has seven clinics in the Hartford region, all in CVS/pharmacy stores, and hopes to add 12 more Connecticut locations by the end of the year.
“MinuteClinic is an example of how creativity and innovation can be brought to our struggling health care system to affect change and make basic care more accessible and affordable for today’s consumer,” said Michael C. Howe, the division’s CEO. “We are extremely proud of this recognition which validates our efforts to foster a new patient-centered approach to health care delivery.”
The walk-in health care centers are staffed by board-certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants, who are trained to provide common vaccines and diagnose and treat common illnesses. They work in collaboration with physicians. MinuteClinics are open seven days a week; no appointments are required.
CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) includes 6,200 CVS/pharmacy stores, the CVS.com online pharmacy, pharmacy benefit manager and mail-order and specialty pharmacy Caremark Pharmacy Services and retail-based health care provider MinuteClinic. Additional information is available at www.cvscaremark.com and www.minuteclinic.com.
To learn more about the nonprofit Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership Inc. or view the full list of 2007 Connecticut Quality Improvement Awards, visit www.ctqualityaward.org.
