Innovative blood management initiative recognized for reducing waste through proactive interfacility transfers.

/PRNewswire/ -- ECRI, a nonprofit organization advancing the safety and quality of healthcare, has honored Cottage Health with its 2026 Health Technology Excellence Award. The annual award recognizes an ECRI member facility for implementing an exceptional initiative to improve patient safety, reduce costs, or otherwise advance the strategic management of health technology.

Cottage Health in Santa Barbara, Calif., developed an interfacility blood transfer program that has significantly reduced the wastage of blood products that occurs when red blood cell (RBC) units reach their expiration date before they can be transfused. The organization's systematic process for safely redistributing RBC units from lower-utilization facilities to its high-utilization Level I trauma-certified hospital, where the blood is more likely to be transfused before expiration, has dramatically reduced wastage.

The financial benefits of the program are calculated to exceed $100,000 annually. Harder to measure, but no less valuable, are the benefits to patient care and to the community at large. The program helps ensure that a precious, donated resource is available for patients when needed, and it demonstrates the organization's commitment to honoring the social contract with volunteer donors, who give their blood expecting it to help patients.

"We are honored to receive this recognition from ECRI," said Lisa Moore, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Cottage Health. "By reducing blood waste, this program helps ensure a lifesaving resource is available for patients when they need it while honoring the generosity of every blood donor."

Designing Reliability and Safety into the System

As part of the program, Cottage Health established mechanisms to identify RBC units that were within 10 days of expiration and initiate their transfer to the trauma center in time for them to be transfused as needed. Successful implementation required a robust infrastructure, the deployment of specialized technologies (e.g., validated temperature-controlled blood unit coolers to ensure product viability during transport), and coordinated workflows. Documentation steps throughout the process allow for full traceability and quality assurance.

As the program matured, transfusion rates for transferred units climbed from 85.2% during the first year to consistently above 98% in subsequent years, demonstrating a system designed to learn and improve over time.

"Cottage Health has demonstrated what is possible when organizations treat health technology management and resource stewardship as system-based challenges," said Scott Lucas, Vice President of Devices, Therapeutics, and Technology at ECRI. "The team created a reliable, sustainable model that improves patient care, reduces waste, and strengthens the organization's bond with the community, showing how systems-focused technology management can deliver lasting value."

2026 Runner-Up

Clinica Imbanaco, part of Grupo QuironSalud in Cali, Colombia, was selected as the Runner-Up for the 2026 Health Technology Excellence Award for its efforts to reduce the environmental impact and safety risks associated with the use of inhaled anesthetic agents. Clinica Imbanaco conducted a comprehensive, systems-based analysis to identify and implement safer and more environmentally sustainable anesthesia administration techniques. Notably, the effort helped the organization eliminate the use of nitrous oxide and desflurane - two agents with high global warming potential and occupational risk for healthcare personnel - without compromising patient safety or the quality of care. The project achieved an 89.36% reduction in halogenated anesthetic use and a 60.6% reduction in carbon footprint while advancing patient safety, worker safety, and environmental responsibility. This recognition marks the third time that Clinica Imbanaco Grupo QuironSalud has been recognized through ECRI's Health Technology Excellence Awards program, including being named the annual winner in 2024.

About Cottage Health

Cottage Health is a not-for-profit health system providing advanced medical care on California's Central Coast. In the past year, its hospitals in Goleta, Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Valley cared for 20,833 inpatient admissions, 93,281 emergency department visits and 1,971 newborn deliveries. With more than 700 physicians, including specialists typically found only at university medical centers, Cottage offers expert, comprehensive care. As a teaching institution, it trains physicians through residency programs in medical, surgical, pediatric and radiology specialties. Cottage Health is home to the Central Coast's only Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and an advanced comprehensive stroke center. Its specialty services include Cottage Children's Medical Center, Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital, the Santa Barbara Neuroscience Institute, Cottage Heart and Vascular Center and Cottage Center for Orthopedics. Beyond its hospitals, Cottage expands care through primary and specialty clinics, urgent care centers and 24/7 provider access via Cottage Virtual Care.

About ECRI

ECRI is an independent, nonprofit organization improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care across all healthcare settings. With a focus on technology evaluation and safety, ECRI is respected and trusted by healthcare leaders and agencies worldwide. Over the past six decades, ECRI has built its reputation on integrity and disciplined rigor, with an unwavering commitment to independence and strict conflict-of-interest rules. ECRI is the only organization worldwide to conduct independent medical device evaluations. ECRI is designated an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The ECRI and Institute for Safe Medication Practices PSO is a federally certified Patient Safety Organization (PSO) as designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ECRI acquired The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) in 2020 to address one of the most prolific causes of preventable harm in healthcare, medication errors; then acquired The Just Culture Company in 2024 to transform healthcare workplace cultures - thus creating one of the largest healthcare quality and safety entities in the world. Visit www.ecri.org.

SOURCE ECRI