Frequently Asked Questions

What is the unique value proposition of CEHI?

• There are five unique characteristics to CEHI:

• CEHI is dramatically different than any other known ED quality effort: The ED Performance Teams are handpicked, must generate high impact results, and have skins in the game - if they drop out, they must reimburse CEHI for our expenditures on their behalf. Just to be considered as a CEHI candidate, each hospital must commit to match our expenditures dollar for dollar with a direct investment in the emergency department as directed explicitly by their ED Performance Team. There can be no restrictions.

• Our program has become a "community survival system": Unfortunately, the terrorism events have brought CEHI front and center. Our small and rural emergency departments that were already stretched beyond capacity now have to deal with the challenges of Bio-Chem-Nuc disaster preparedness. The local community hospital is either the first or second largest employer in communities, is the key asset of the community, and is the "go-to" resource in the time of crisis. Our initiative has been dramatically enhanced to directly meet the needs of disaster preparedness. It generates rapid skill development and equips hospitals to lead the coordination of civil response integration during medical disaster crisis. Capacity and capabilities have become critical issues. We address them. See ED Disaster Preparedness section of our web site.

• We are delighted to have recruited an amazing advisory team from many industries: See Development Advisory Team section of our web site. Our world-class faculty team of experts from the finest academic institutions and leading performance groups compliments our leadership structure. Because we have intentionally created a transparent program with bullet proof credentials and clear economics we have been able to recruit advisory support and create collaborative relationships with the majority of healthcare certifying bodies and federal healthcare agencies. Our goal is to be a pathfinder organization that provides a template and strategic roadmap for others who want to generate performance impact through non-profit initiatives.

• We have intensely evaluated the healthcare industry and there are no initiatives that specifically address the same segment and needs of frontline ED teams in the same way. None measure and drive performance. All are traditional voluntary educational programs. None require financial investment in the ED and none have a financial risk to dropping out. All other initiatives undertaken to date compliment our effort and can benefit from our work. A good question was asked of us by a Congressman who may support our effort: Will we have detractors in the healthcare industry? Surprisingly, the caregiver community is embracing our approach.

• Baseline funding will allow us to develop critical mass, launch our knowledge management system, produce a core platform of best practices, and establish a "train the trainer" capacity. This reduces the cost of adding teams and we can establish a community sponsorship program. A sponsorship program will allow groups and employers to sponsor emergency teams from their own communities. This creates a perpetual support model and allows us to either operate with minimal outside funding or use additional grants to multiply our efforts. Download printer version of CEHI Overview/Funding Summary.