Key Dates for 2026

Application Opens
January 1, 2026

Application Deadline
June 31, 2026

Award Announcement
September 1, 2026

Award Presentation at NW Patient Safety Conference
October, 2026

Application Information

How to apply for the award

1. Applications are accessed via the Application Form button on this page.
2. Download and complete the form.
3. Email to: WPSC@QUALITYHEALTH.ORG. Subject: HE Award Application.
4. Check “Key Dates” on award website for submission deadlines.

Applicant criteria

• Applicants must be a WPSC member in good standing.
• Applications are open to individuals & healthcare organizations/business in WA state. Washington healthcare organizations include hospitals, pharmacies, long term care (e.g. skilled nursing facilities & assisted living facilities), clinics and physician offices, insurers, laboratories, and other care related business are eligible.
• Applicants must complete the WPSC Health Equity: Innovation in Patient Safety Award application form.
• Please omit any Protected Health Information.
• There is a limit of one application per facility, per award cycle.
• Application and supplementary materials provided during the nomination process will not be returned.
• The HE:IPSA winner will receive complimentary attendance to WPSC’s NW Patient Safety Conference in October for up to 5 team members to officially receive the Award.

Equitable Opportunities For All

• The WPSC is committed to ensuring a climate of inclusion for all member entities. We recognize that organizations have varying resources and may be in different parts of the journey towards health equity. In light of this, we recognize that information supplied may vary in detail from one member to another.
• Applicants are encouraged to share exciting, creative approaches to goals that they are progressing towards and/or have achieved, as well as learnings from the process.

Award Application 

• Applicants must submit information on their health equity efforts against the backdrop of WPSC’s Innovation in Patient Safety Standards, which is comprised of 7 Health Equity Commitments.
• Innovation: This is a key Health Equity Commitment pillar that highlights how the organization is implementing innovative solutions to address disparities and advance health equity.
• Please limit your response for each Health Equity Commitment question to 500 words.

Prior Award Winners

• If your health system has won a Health Equity: Innovation in Patient Safety Award in the past, we kindly request that you wait two (2) years before applying again.

Factors to Consider

• Tell us about the measurable impact that your health equity work has made in your healthcare system and in the communities you serve. The Review Committee values applications that include metrics, methodologies and evidence of the resulting improved outcomes for patients.
• Describe how health equity is an integral part of the organization’s operations strategy and plans.
• Give us a clear picture of your approach to addressing health disparities. How is what you are doing different?

Supplemental materials

• Applicants are encouraged to submit additional materials such as dashboards and scorecards.
• Supporting documents must not exceed a total of 14 pages.
• All supplemental materials must be uploaded, together with your electronic application form, by the submission deadline.

Innovation in Patient Safety Commitments

The WPSC Health Equity: Innovation in Patient Safety Award is awarded based on our Innovation in Patient Safety Standards, comprised of 7 Health Equity Commitments:

1. Patient Safety
2. Equitable and Inclusive Organizational Policy
3. Culturally Competent Care
4. Shared Decision-Making
5. Collection and Use of Data
6. Community Collaboration For Solutions
7. Innovation

Note:

• Patient safety & Innovation are the award’s overarching pillars.
• All submissions will be evaluated through a patient safety lens.
• We will be looking for exemplary performance in innovation.

Who should be involved in completing the WPSC Health Equity: Innovation In Patient Safety Award application?
Ideally, application should involve systemwide team members. Review the Health Equity Commitments and corresponding questions in the WPSC HE:IPSA application to determine which team members can best answer the questions.

Below are examples of potential individual team members to involve in completing the application:

Below are definitions and descriptions of award criteria

Definition of Health Equity:
A state in which every individual has a fair & just opportunity to attain their full potential for health & well-being. It is where socially unfair & unjust health disparities do not exist.

Definition of Patient Safety (WHO):
A framework of organized activities that creates cultures, processes, procedures, behaviors, technologies & environments in health care that consistently & sustainably lower risks, reduce the occurrence of avoidable harm, make error less likely & reduce its impact when it does occur.

Award Health Equity Commitments
The award is based on seven Health Equity Commitment Pillars. These Pillars are the activities and actions applicants engage to address health equity issues toward improving patient safety and health care outcomes. Award judges will evaluate applications based on how an applicant approached each Pillar. All submissions will be evaluated through a patient safety lens. We will be looking for exemplary performance in innovation.

Pillar 1: Patient Safety
Pillar 2: Health Equity Commitment
Pillar 3: Community Collaboration for Solutions
Pillar 4: Addressing Disparities
Pillar 5: Innovation
Pillar 6: Social Determinants of Health
Pillar 7: Cultural Competence

Award Presentation

• All award recipients will be notified individually.
• All nominees are congratulated and receive recognition through the WPSC’s website and patient safety newsletter. Finalists and award winners will receive recognition at the annual NW Patient Safety Conference.
• Award recipients will receive 5 free registrations to the conference. If approved by the awardee’s organization, the WPSC will arrange for an onsite recognition event.

Award Winners

The 2025 Health Equity: Innovation in Patient Safety Award Winner

Wellpoint, Washington

The Washington Patient Safety Coalition (WPSC) is thrilled to announce the first winner of our Health Equity: Innovation in Patient Safety (HE:IPS) Award: Wellpoint, Washington.

Congratulations!

Applicants for this inaugural year demonstrated exemplary commitment to ensuring that their patients have a fair and just opportunity to attain health & well-being. We thank them for their submissions and for their important work.

Our 2025 Winner – Wellpoint, Washington, stood out. Patient safety is clearly a priority for this organization. Equity and inclusiveness are embedded in their policies. Their health plan ensures all members have meaningful access to quality care through culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Patients and their families are empowered through shared decision-making and a focus on the individual patient’s experience. Their health equity strategy employs data to demonstrably improve health outcomes.

Wellpoint was awarded the NCQA Health Equity Base and Plus Accreditation. The latter primarily focuses on social needs. Through community partnerships, identified needs such as Substance Use Disorder, Housing Instability, Financial Insecurity, Food and Transportation Insecurity are addressed. The only managed care organization in Washington with this distinction, this achievement showcases their commitment to patient safety through collaboration with partners to enhance Washingtonians’ health by assessing key social health drivers statewide.

Innovativeness set our winner apart. The following highlight some of the creative solutions implemented to target specific health disparities as a way to elevate patient safety.

New Continuum in Care:
Pioneering OB Case Management custom, referral system developed in collaboration with Sea Mar of Vancouver, a federally qualified health center, to address a gap in treatment for their members. This customized system targeted specific communities to better serve their clinical needs for maternity, family, and individual care.

Health Equity Task Force (HETF):
Health disparities addressed to elevate patient safety and empower members through inclusive dialogue with their one-of-a-kind Health Equity Task Force (HETF).
Associates, community members, individuals, partners, and non-partners participate engage in regular, candid discussions to mitigate health disparities, focused on the most ostracized communities.

Tribal Commitment:
Unique partnership with Tribal and AI/AN communities. While Washington does not require Tribal members to contract with their organization, a dedicated Tribal Operations Team was formed to provide them with optimal engagement and care within the 29 federally recognized counties.
This respectful and culturally sensitive approach improves understanding of tribal needs, decreases complaints, enhances collaboration, builds trust and strengthens their relationships.

Join us in honoring and congratulating our 2025 HE:IPS Award winner!

We are also pleased to congratulate the finalist of our Health Equity: Innovation in Patient Safety (HE:IPS) Award:

Confluence Health

Frequently Asked Questions