PRIZE Anne de-Wahl Granelli, who received her doctorate from the University of Gothenburg, has been awarded the American Humanitarian Prize for the method now termed the Granelli Protocol, which is a new method for detecting heart disease in new born babies, which her dissertation from 2009 also dealt with.
The Humanitarian Award is awarded every year by the American organization for patient safety, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation. The prize is a awarded for the most important achievements in strengthening patient safety and to reduce the number of avoidable healthcare injuries that can lead to death. As a prize-winner, Anne de-Wahl Granelli has good company – last year the prize went to then president Barack Obama and vice president Joe Biden.
Essentially, Anne de-Wahl Granelli PhD, MBA is a biomedical analyst and is currently Head of Operations for the Cardiology Clinic at NU Healthcare. She is receiving the prize for her research about the so-called Granelli Project, implying that oxygen saturation in the blood of new born babies is controlled before the family leaves the hospital.
“Before measuring oxygen saturation in the blood of the newly born, the medical services missed almost 30% of the life-threatening heart diseases and five percent of this children ended up dying without even having been diagnosed,” says Anne de-Wahl Granelli, who received the prize together with Annemarie Saarinen, who is working to improve US maternity care.
“The prize has tremendous significance for everyone who has taken part in the research. It is really an acknowledgment of the entire Västra Götaland Region, which was out first with the Granelli Project. And it is fantastic that there has been such an impact in other countries. I am very proud of representing NU Healthcare and the entire Västra Götaland Region,” says Anne de-Wahl Granelli.
The prize consists of a statue with the name of the prize-winner engraved on it and it was awarded at a award ceremony in the USA on February 4. Present were also other speakers, including former President Bill Clinton.
“I had a photo of me taken together with him and also had the opportunity to exchange a few words with him. He praised the Swedish system and thanked me. Being a part of this was a really fantastic feeling.”
