Starting with Partnerships to Gain Strength:
P2 (Pursuing Perfection) is a not-for-profit corporation, incorporated on August 22, 2002. The official name of the organization is P2 Collaborative of Western New York.
The seven original members of the P2 corporation are:
- Independent Health
- Univera Healthcare
- Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corporation
- State University of New York at Buffalo, Department of Family Medicine
- Buffalo Medical Group, PC
- Promedicus Health Group, LLP
- Highgate Medical Group, PC
In early 2001, Independent Health, a top-rate managed healthcare organization, lead the way in an application to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (www.rwjf.org) for a grant called “Pursuing Perfection.” The grant would support organizations in their efforts to build quality into their strategic plan. Two clinical areas were targeted for significant improvement and Independent Health worked in collaboration with many groups. Among them were smaller medical practices with expertise in heart disease management and the renowned Roswell Park Cancer Institute, who partnered with Independent Health exploring variances in breast cancer care.
Recognizing that improvements in care would be more effective if Independent Health joined forces with other insurance firms, Univera Healthcare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield joined efforts on the grant.
The group was selected as a finalist for the grant and received a site visit from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation mid-year 2001. The team for the visit was led by Robert Brook, MD (Rand Corporation) and Maureen Bisognano (COO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement). The team indicated that the collaborative initiative was clearly an outstanding one, however it was not an existing corporation. The Foundation’s team noted that the Western New York community was clearly committed to coming together, but without a formal organization, the collaborative could not technically receive funds.
Moving Forward With Commitment to Health:
Disappointed, but buoyed by the feedback, the assembled cadre of health care professionals felt compelled to not only stay together and continue its work, but to also move forward with forming a true organization. Discussions continued and the formal incorporation of P2 resulted in August 2002.
An original board was seated and officers selected. Their focus was on two specific areas, the management of risk factors of heart disease and the timely diagnosis and management of breast cancer. The purposes of the original corporation were:
- To improve the delivery of healthcare in Western New York by (1) setting forth common quality guidelines that will be used for both consumers and providers of medical care and (2) by providing reports to consumers and providers of medical care on the quality of care in the community.
- To receive, accept, hold and administer any funds, grants, or other contributions without limitation as to amount or value and use and disburse the funds for scientific and educational purposes in such as manner as in the judgment of the board of directors shall best achieve the purposes of the corporation without limitations, except such limitations as set forth in the Certificate of Incorporation or any laws applicable thereto;
- To assist physicians in monitoring and tracking patient care;
- To develop common clinical guidelines for the Western New York community;
- To collect, exchange, and disseminate research and information concerning primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention to improve healthcare delivery.
Target the Heart Heads Up Additional Community Collaboration:
A partnership formed in July 2003 with the Research Center on Stroke and Heart Disease, American Heart Association and the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women brought a world-class, one-day conference to Buffalo on March 13, 2003. The conference, entitled “Target the Heart: A Summit on Stroke and Heart Disease in Women” engaged 300 decision and policy leaders on Buffalo-Niagara’s high rate of stroke and heart disease, with an emphasis on treatment and prevention for women.
The summit enjoyed a generous commitment from local sponsors, including grants awarded by the National Centers for Disease Control and the US Department of Health and Human Services. The summit also served as a launching pad for a multi-year campaign to facilitate diverse factions of the community to find sustainable solutions to affect root cause of heart disease and stroke. Action groups formed during the summit, including representatives from religious, civic, educational, business and governmental groups, went to work on many community initiatives. The programming areas included faith and neighborhood outreach, work site intervention, community-wide outreach and medical best practice standards.
Funding remaining from the summit was used as “bridge funding” for the action groups, moving them forward in their collaborative projects. A permanent home for the programs was sought, and in the meantime, a contracted facilitator was hired.
The overarching goal of the action groups were not just to improve public awareness but to implement long-term behavioral changes designed to reduce risk factors contributing to heart disease and stroke. A broad, purposeful effort across many segments of the Western New York Community was needed to keep the momentum going long-term.
P2 and Target the Heart Merge:
At the same time P2 was establishing itself, the Target the Heart initiative was taking shape. After its successful summit and the subsequent formation of specific action groups, Target the Heart spoke to leaders at P2 about a formal merger. A community component from Target the Heart, and P2 ’s strong eye toward medical practice standards, made the merger compulsory and a key to long-term success.
After several months of discussion, the successful merger of the two programs took place in the fall of 2003 and Target the Heart was formally moved under the corporate umbrella of P2. The components of Target the Heart that made it a tremendous community-wide initiative were integrated into the board structure of P2 . Executive leaders from a variety of disciplines were included in the P2 volunteer leadership.