US Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to Visit Pitt County Memorial Hospital

May 19, 2011 - PRLog -- GREENVILLE, NC - On Monday, May 23, 2011 at 2:30 p.m., U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will join Congressman G.K. Butterfield, hospital officials, doctors, patients and other key health care advocates at the East Carolina Heart Institute at Pitt County Memorial Hospital to highlight the Partnership for Patients.  Launched last month, the Partnership will help save 60,000 lives by stopping millions of preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years and has the potential to save up to $35 billion, including up to $10 billion for Medicare.  Over the next ten years, it could reduce costs to Medicare by about $50 billion and result in billions more in Medicaid savings.

Already, more than 1,500 hospitals, as well as physicians and nurses organizations, consumer groups, and employers totaling more than 3,000 partners have pledged their commitment to this initiative. Among partners committed to patient safety, University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina and Pitt County Memorial Hospital are national leaders in the efforts to ensure that patients receive the highest quality of care. This event is the second of a series of hospital visits around the country the Secretary will make to highlight models of excellence as a part of the Partnership for Patients.

For more details on the Partnership for Patients, please go to http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/partnership0412....


WHO:  HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Congressman G.K. Butterfield

WHEN: Monday, May 23, 2011
               Tour 2:40 p.m. *
                Community Roundtable discussion 3 p.m.

*  visuals include the Heart Institute’s patient care areas, featuring nurses and medical staff demonstrating technological innovations.

WHERE: East Carolina Heart Institute at Pitt County Memorial Hospital
                  529 Moye Boulevard
                  Greenville, NC

Event is open to credentialed members of the media only.

# # #

UHS is a regional health system serving twenty-nine counties in eastern North Carolina. The system is comprised of a major academic medical center, Pitt County Memorial Hospital, and six community hospitals located throughout eastern North Carolina.