News Release

For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Rubin, 312.422.3810

ASHE Joins National Effort to Improve Health Care for Troops Returning Home
National Launch of Joining Forces Online Initiative

Chicago, IL October 29, 2008- Today The American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) of the American Hospital Association (AHA) announced that it has joined with the AHA, HealthPartners and more than a dozen national organizations in a nationwide effort to educate millions of Americans about the problems faced by returning veterans and their families. Through the Joining Forces education campaign and curricula, medical professionals across the nation can now receive training online on how to deal with the health issues facing our nation's troops as they return home from service. Additionally, outreach efforts are designed to inform the varied individuals and organizations that service men and women and their families might turn to for help about these available resources.

The Web site, www.joiningforcesonline.org will house the four-part series which addresses the most common issues our returning soldiers face including challenges of reintegration, a general overview of health care issues faced by returning military, mild traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as links to a variety of other resources.

The program was first developed in 2007 by Minnesota-based HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education in partnership with Twin Cities Public Television, the Minnesota Army National Guard and Minneapolis Veterans Affairs. Since that time, the American Hospital Association has recruited a variety of organizations including the American Medical Women's Association, the American Association of Medical Colleges, the American Association of Nurse Executives and many others to help promote the program.

"What began as an effort to educate health caregivers in one community in Minnesota about the special needs of returning veterans and their families has grown into a collaboration among national organizations involving hospitals, doctors, nurses, social workers, clergy and many others all across our nation", said Rich Umbdenstock, President and Chief Executive Officer, the American Hospital Association. "Joining Forces tells an important story about the debt we owe our troops and the enormous level of support they enjoy back home."

"We have been extremely pleased with the response of veteran, health and social service organizations across the country," said Dr. Carl Patow, executive director of HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education. "With their support, we're able to generate greater awareness among health care professionals, which in turn helps ensure improved care for our veterans and their families."

For more information about the program, go to www.joiningforcesonline.org. The Joining Forces curricula is available to anyone and can be used to meet continuing education credits for physicians across the nation.

About ASHE
The American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) is one of the personal membership groups of the American Hospital Association (AHA). ASHE represents a diverse network of more than 9,200 members dedicated to optimizing the healthcare physical environment. For information on ASHE go to www.ashe.org.

About AHA
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health
care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which includes more than 4,800 hospitals, health care systems, networks, and other providers of care, and 37,000 individuals. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA Web site at www.aha.org.

About HealthPartners
Founded in 1957, the HealthPartners (www.healthpartners.com) family of healthcare companies serves more than one million medical and dental health plan members nationwide. It is the largest consumer-governed, nonprofit health care organization in the nation, providing care, coverage, research and education to improve the health of members, patients and the community. For the third year in a row, HealthPartners is rated one of the best commercial health plans in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, NCQA's "America's Best Health Plans 2007" and is ranked "Highest in Member Satisfaction among Commercial Health Plans in the Minnesota-Wisconsin Region" by J.D. Power and Associates.

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