4.24.2006 ET

(CSRwire) ARLINGTON, Va. and DEERFIELD, Ill.- In recognition of her notable contributions to the public through innovative health services research, Linda H. Aiken, Ph.D., has been selected as the first recipient of the William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research. The Prize will be awarded on June 24, 2006 at the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) annual meeting in Seattle. The William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research was established to honor the late William B. Graham, long-time chairman and CEO of Baxter International Inc., who passed away in January at the age of 94. The Prize, the highest distinction that researchers in the health services field can achieve, is sponsored by The Baxter International Foundation and administered by AUPHA. The Graham Prize will succeed The Baxter International Foundation Prize for Health Services Research, which has long been internationally regarded as the premier recognition for individuals practicing health services research.

"Linda Aiken has made many important contributions that have had a lasting impact on the healthcare system and the way healthcare is delivered," said Thomas Rundall, Ph.D., of the University of California, Berkeley, and selection committee chair. "Her work has greatly influenced nursing policies and practices, including nurse work force supply; nurse recruitment and retention; and hospital nursing governance, staffing, and patient care practices. She is recognized by scholars and practitioners alike for her many contributions to improving health and medical care in the U.S. and around the world."

Aiken has been a major contributor to the health workforce and outcomes research for two decades and has received many honors and awards for her work, including the 2006 Raymond and Beverly Sackler Award from Research!America for Sustained Leadership in Health Research and the 2005 AcademyHealth Distinguished Investigator Award in Health Services Research. Dr. Aiken was also awarded the 2003 Individual Earnest A. Codman Award from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) for her leadership utilizing performance measures to demonstrate relationships between nursing care and patient outcomes.

Aiken says of her selection, "It's an honor to have been selected by my research colleagues as the recipient of the William B. Graham Prize, and very gratifying to have validation that our research is making a difference in health care. I am grateful to The Baxter International Foundation for its long standing interest in health services research and for its grant support for our research in its formative stages."

Dr. Aiken is currently the director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, and is The Claire M. Fagin Leadership Professor of Nursing, Professor of Sociology, and Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a leading expert on global nurse migration, its consequences, and solutions in developing and developed countries, and leads the International Hospital Outcomes Consortium, studying the impact of nursing on patient outcomes in eight countries.

She is a member of the Expert Advisory Panel guiding the World Alliance for Patient Safety. Her research is frequently cited by the press and is a winner of three American Academy of Nursing Media Awards. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and she is a former president of the American Academy of Nursing, and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing in the United Kingdom. Dr. Aiken received her bachelors and masters degrees in nursing from the University of Florida, Gainesville, her Ph.D. in sociology and demography from the University of Texas at Austin, and she completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in medical sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Since 1986, The Baxter International Foundation has funded the Health Services Research Prize in recognition of researchers who have made major contributions to the health of the public through innovative research in health services. During Mr. Graham's nearly 30-year tenure as chairman and CEO, Baxter established one of the most outstanding growth records in American industry, and developed some of the most important medical products of the century. Under Mr. Graham's leadership, Baxter pioneered the development of many groundbreaking and vital therapies including: the first flexible intravenous container system, the first artificial kidney, the first plastic blood-collection system, the first clotting factor for people with hemophilia and the introduction of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

"AUPHA and Baxter have had a long and successful partnership in recognizing the world's top health services researchers," said Lydia Reed, AUPHA's President and CEO. "The naming of the William Graham Prize will continue this tradition, and we are pleased to be able to honor Mr. Graham in this way."

The Prize acknowledges national or international contributions of health services researchers who apply analytic methods to examine and evaluate the organization, financing, and/or delivery of health services. The focus of the Prize is on the recognition of a person who has had a significant impact on the health of the public in one of three primary focus areas: Health Services Management, Health Policy Development and Health Care Delivery.

The Prize winner is selected annually from a distinguished list of nominees by an international selection committee made up of past Health Services Research Prize winners, distinguished academics, and internationally recognized researchers. The Prize, formerly accompanied by a $25,000 award, will now include a $50,000 award, in honor of Mr. Graham. The Prize recipient will be awarded $25,000, and the remaining $25,000 will be contributed to a not-for-profit institution that supports the Prize winner's work.

The Baxter International Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), helps organizations expand access to health care in the United States and around the world. The foundation, established in 1981, began to focus exclusively on increasing access to health care in 2002 - particularly for the disadvantaged and underserved - in communities where Baxter employees live and work. Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, assists health care professionals and their patients with the treatment of complex medical conditions, including cancer, hemophilia, immune disorders, kidney disease and trauma. The company applies its expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to make a meaningful difference in patients' lives. For more information, please visit -->

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