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LA GRANDE —March 14, 2012— IDG’s Computerworld Honors Program today announces Grande Ronde Hospital as a 2012 Laureate. The annual award program honors visionary applications of information technology promoting positive social, economic and educational change.

"There's no question technology plays a vital role in driving business forward. It ensures an organization's ability to compete, innovate, communicate and thrive. What the Computerworld Honors Laureates so clearly demonstrate is technology's role in moving society forward. Computerworld acknowledges and applauds the outstanding work being done by individuals and organizations who have successfully used technology to improve the quality of our lives and that of future generations," said John Amato, Vice President/Publisher of Computerworld.
"Computerworld is proud to name the 2012 class of Laureates and celebrate their initiatives benefiting society through the innovative use of IT."

"We are very pleased and honored to be recognized by such an esteemed organization as Computerworld for our pioneering telemedicine achievements," said Grande Ronde Hospital President and CEO Jim Mattes. "This award validates Grande Ronde Hospital's efforts to innovate and improve access to specialty care medical services in a remote rural region like Northeast Oregon. Our community can be very proud that its local hospital is an internationally recognized model for delivering telemedicine services that reduce cost and improve access to quality medical care for patients who otherwise would have to travel out of town."

Since implementing the Telemedicine Program in 2008, Grande Ronde Hospital has tracked savings of nearly $1.3 million dollars from medical transfers at $28,000 each and follow-up specialty consults that the program has provided in the form of 51 saved patient transfers and associated costs.

In 2010 the TeleOncology Program saved local patients a total of 27,348miles in travel, $13,674 in travel expenses and 556 hours in travel time. And because some patients were able to go back to work the same day as their treatment, it also saved patients the potential of lost wages. Since August 2010, the TeleDermatology services have saved 77 patients a total of 12,782 miles, 270 hours in travel and $6,600 in expenses.

From a program that began as an educational opportunity for the hospital’s perioperative nurses, Telemedicine at Grand Ronde Hospital now partners with specialists from coast to coast to provide consultative services in cardiology, neurology, neonatology, dermatology; as well as intensive, stroke and trauma care with more opportunities such as TeleEndocrinology in development.

Through Telemedicine technology, Grande Ronde Hospital also provides free education opportunities for the public, Language Access services to our patients and an Ambassador program that can allows family members from our facility to have "face time" with loved ones when transferred to a tertiary facility. For example, a new mother recovering from a C-section is able to see and talk to her premature baby in Boise or Portland via the robot’s mile-spanning monitor.

The Computerworld Honors Program awards will be presented at the Gala Evening and Awards Ceremony on June 4, 2012 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Laureates will also be inducted into the program’s International Archives and featured online at www.cwhonors.org. The June 4^th issue of Computerworld magazine will also feature this year's Honors Laureates.

About The Computerworld Honors Program
Founded by International Data Group (IDG) in 1988, The Computerworld Honors Program is governed by the not-for-profit Computerworld Information Technology Awards Foundation. Computerworld Honors is the longest running global program to honor individuals and organizations that use information technology to promote positive social, economic and educational change. Additional information about the program and a Global Archive of past Laureate case studies, as well as oral histories of Leadership Award recipients can be found at the Computerworld Honors website http://events.computerworld.com/2012Honors

Grande Ronde Hospital is a not-for-profit, Critical Access Hospital dedicated to providing quality health care services. Comprised of a broad range of diagnostic, surgical and therapeutic outpatient services, a Level IV Trauma Emergency Services Department and three clinics—the Children’s Clinic, the Women’s Clinic and the Regional Medicine Clinic—-as well as the Family Birthing Center, the Rehabilitation Therapy Services Department and Home Care Services covering home health and hospice, Grande Ronde Hospital is recognized as a premier small and rural healthcare facility. For more than 100 years Grande Ronde Hospital has led the region in providing healthcare for the communities of Northeast Oregon.

Computerworldis the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers worldwide, providing peer perspective, IT leadership and business results. Computerworld's award-winning web site (www.computerworld.com), bi-weekly publication, focused conference series and custom research forms the hub of the world's largest (40+ edition) global IT media network. In the past five years alone, Computerworld has won more than 100 awards, including Magazine of the Year by American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) awards in 2010, the 2009 Best Blog from the Neal awards, and 2006 Best Overall Web Publication from ASBPE. Computerworld leads the industry with an online audience of over 3.5 million unique, monthly visitors (Omniture, September 2011). Computerworld is published by IDG Enterprise, a subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, events and research company. Company information is available at www.idgenterprise.com.