Philadelphia, PA – Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz was honored this morning with a “2008 Leadership Award” by the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council (DVHC) for her leadership and accomplishments in healthcare policy.

"Each year our hospital community recognizes leaders who have used their creativity, skills, and passion to make a significant contribution to improving our health care delivery system," said Ken Braithwaite, Regional Executive, Delaware Valley Healthcare Council (DVHC) of the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania.

"This year we are honoring Congresswoman Schwartz specifically for her leadership on electronic prescribing in Medicare and financing for electronic medical records. She brought to Washington the same traits that made her so successful as a state Senator in Harrisburg. She possess a peripheral vision that enables her to see the big picture in terms of healthcare. She understands that controlling costs is as imperative as access and quality. She also has this tenacity to stick to a bill that is realistic and works diligently to make sure that it gets the attention it deserves,” Braithwaite added.

The Delaware Valley Healthcare Council is a membership organization representing more than 130 healthcare organizations in Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and northern Delaware.

During her more than three decades as a healthcare executive and legislator, Schwartz has developed a well-earned national reputation as one of America’s leading healthcare policy experts.
She is a champion in Congress on issues ranging from making health coverage more affordable for working families to pressing for nationwide use of health information technology to elevate both the quality and cost-effectiveness of U.S. healthcare.

Schwartz is one of the leaders in Congress on health IT, particularly on e-prescribing. Schwartz helped found, and currently co-chairs, the New Democrat Coalition Healthcare Taskforce, a Congressional healthcare initiative aimed at dramatically improving Americans access to quality, affordable health insurance through prevention, innovation and competition.

As a Pennsylvania state Senator, Schwartz spearheaded Pennsylvania’s legislative efforts to provide health care coverage to the children of working and middle-class families. Her leadership led to the creation of the Pennsylvania Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 1992, which served as the model for the federal initiative that now provides health insurance to millions of American children.

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