The Alvin E. Smith Safety of

Health Care Services Grant Program

The Florida Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association (FMMJUA) announces the availability of up to $2 million in grants for partnerships to improve the safety of health care services. The deadline for grant applications submitted in response to this Request for Applications (RFA) is June 11, 2009; the FMMJUA Board of Governors will make the final decisions September 9, 2009.

The FMMJUA intends to commit up to $2 million in funds to finance an unspecified number of grants. Eligible applicants include any agency or institution located in Florida whose function includes activities intended to improve the safety of health care services. Applicants should propose projects that seek to (1) identify, develop, test and implement safe practice interventions in inpatient and/or outpatient settings, and (2) disseminate these interventions to other institutions via validated tools, products and/or health care safety toolkits.

The goal of the FMMJUA RFA is to improve the safety in the delivery of health care services to all Floridians. The RFA notes that “The number of patients in the United States and in the state of Florida harmed by the delivery of health care services is unacceptably high.”

This is a new grant program offered by the FMMJUA. Applications can be made for projects of up to two years in duration. To learn more about the RFA please visit the FMMJUA Web site: www.fmmjua.com. To learn more about the Florida medical malpractice industry you may view the Office of Insurance Regulation’s annual report.

About the Florida Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association:

The FMMJUA is a state sanctioned insurance plan for medical malpractice coverage, and provides professional liability insurance coverage for health care providers that cannot find coverage in the open market. The FMMJUA’s professional liability policies offer coverage for individual physicians, surgeons, dentists, nurses, physician partnerships or corporations, hospitals, medical facilities and other health care providers operating in Florida. The Florida Legislature created the FMMJUA under Section 627.351(4), Florida Statutes.

Contact: General Manager of the FMMJUA, Preston E. Cowie

Email: frankie@fmmjua.org.