Contact: Brenda Jaye, Fairview Physician Associates, 952-914-1858

EDINA (July 20, 2010)--Fifteen metro area clinics received grants totaling $94,900 to support patient care innovation. Funding is part of an annual grant program offered to member clinics by Fairview Physician Associates (FPA) to improve clinical quality and efficiency as well as the patient experience.

"Through our small grant program and other tools, we aim to help member clinics achieve the best possible patient care and superior customer experience at the best possilbe price," says William Nersesian, MD, FPA chief medical officer. Recipients and projects include:

Advancements in Allergy and Asthma Care, Ltd., 12450 Wayzata Blvd Suite 215, Minnetonka: $5,200 to improve staff efficiencies and enhance patient experience through staff training and implementation of electronic tools.

Bloomington Lake Clinic, Ltd., locations in Minneapolis and Bloomington: $6,000 to help patients reach and maintain a healthy weight through staff education, resource awareness and follow up planning.

Fairview Andover Clinic, 13819 Hanson Blvd N.W., Andover: $7,450 to improve patient care through development of a health care home delivery model for children, to include a quality advisory group and registry of 50 special needs patients.

Fairview Brooklyn Park Clinic, 10000 Zane Ave. N., Brooklyn Park: $9,100 to raise awareness of colon cancer and to encourage patients to get recommended colon screening.

Fairview Brooklyn Park Clinic, $9,657 to develop and apply best practices for culturally competent care.

Fairview Cedar Ridge Clinic, 15650 Cedar Ave S., Apple Valley: $3,000 to improve employee engagement through teamwork and work style training.

Fairview Children’s Clinic, 2535 University Avenue, S.E., Minneapolis: $6,278 to improve patient care through development of new tools to enhance communication between hospital and clinic-based physicians, family members and patients.

Fairview Hiawatha Clinic, 3809 42 Ave. S., Minneapolis: $3,742 to improve care for patients with asthma through staff training in patient education.

Fairview Hugo Clinic, 14712 Victor Hugo Blvd., Hugo: $3,525 to develop an on-site patient weight loss program involving exercise, diet, education and support.

Fairview Rush City Clinic, 760 W. Fourth St., Rush City: $7,943 to improve care for patients with chronic pain in a rural setting; reduce medical costs, disability and narcotic use.

Minnesota Head & Neck Pain Clinic, locations in Burnsville, Plymouth, St Paul and Woodbury: $5,000 to develop evidence- and web-based education tools patients to help patients manage chronic pain.

Minnesota Oncology, locations in Burnsville, Edina, Fridley, Maplewood, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Waconia and Woodbury: $2,662 to develop a cancer survivorship program to address late effects of symptoms and treatments, including quality of life.

Oakdale Obstetrics and Gynecology, PA, locations in Maple Grove, Robbinsdale, Plymouth and Brooklyn Park: $4,233 to increase breastfeeding of newborns through education of the mothers and access to a certified lactation consultant.

Richfield Medical Group, 6440 Nicollet Avenue: $4,268 to support development of a program to treat people with chronic bronchitis, emphysema and other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD).

South Lake Pediatrics, locations include Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Plymouth, St. Louis Park: $10,000 to develop a program to treat childhood obesity more effectively through focused monitoring, intervention and follow up.

Zeenat Qureshi Stroke Research Center, Dept of Neurology, University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC), Fairview, Minneapolis: $9,151 to assess structured clinical one-year follow-up visit intervention for stroke patients admitted to UMMC.

FPA is a physician-led nonprofit of 1,200 independent, Fairview-employed and University of Minnesota primary and specialty physicians.