Hypertension Control Champions
The Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Challenge is a competition to identify practices, clinicians, and health systems that have worked with their patients to achieve hypertension control rates at or above 70% through innovations in health information technology and electronic health records, patient communication, and health care team approaches. The stories and lessons learned below can help other practices and systems work with patients to achieve successful blood pressure control.
2015
2015 Hypertension Control Champions
Million Hearts® recognized 18 health care practices and systems as 2015 Champions for their efforts to achieve blood pressure control for at least 70% of their adult patients with hypertension. Watch for more information on the 2015 Champions in the coming months.
International Community Health Services
Seattle, Washington
A federally qualified health center serving seven locations, International Community Health Services gained the trust of their largely Asian and Pacific Islander population by delivering culturally appropriate care.
Reliant Medical Group
Central Massachusetts
Reliant created standard operating procedures to accurately measure blood pressure for their patients and distributed digital cuffs to its 20 locations. They also gave digital blood pressure monitors for patients to use at home, which helped identify undiagnosed patients with hypertension and helped others control their blood pressure.
Zufall Health
Northwest New Jersey
Dr. Robert Zufall and his wife Kathryn founded a free clinic in 1990 to provide treatment for the uninsured and underserved population in their area. Today, Zufall Health has nine locations as well as a medical van that serves homeless individuals during the day and migrant workers in the evening.
2014
2014 Hypertension Control Champions
Million Hearts® has recognized 30 health care practices and systems as 2014 Champions for their efforts to achieve blood pressure control for at least 70% of their adult patients with hypertension. Learn more about their success and how you can put their evidence-based strategies into action.
Addressing Health Disparities
Million Hearts® has recognized five health care organizations and practices as 2014 Hypertension Control Champions that have worked to address health disparities for patients: Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in Houston, Texas; Green Spring Internal Medicine in Lutherville, Maryland; Denver Health Community Health Services; Kaiser Permanente Southern California; and Northlake Family Medical Practice in Columbia, South Carolina.
Small Practices
Million Hearts® has recognized two small practice providers as 2014 Hypertension Control Champions: Holly R. Dahlman, MD, of Green Spring Internal Medicine in Lutherville, Maryland, and Mark Backus, MD, of Cascade Internal Medicine Specialists in Bend, Oregon.
Large Health Systems
Million Hearts® has recognized three large health care organizations as 2014 Champions: Presbyterian Healthcare Services in Albuquerque,
New Mexico; Kaiser Permanente Southern California; and Essentia Health in Duluth, Minnesota.
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
FQHCs serve a unique role of providing preventive and primary care services in communities of need, regardless of an individual's ability to pay. The 2014 FQHC Champions include Denver Health Community Health Services, East Jordan Family Health Center, Family Health Centers of San Diego, Peninsula Community Health Services, Roane County Family Health Care, Southwest Montana Community Health Center, and WinMed Health Services.
Tennessee
Many health care providers, practices, and systems across Tennessee and the nation are focusing on blood pressure control. The 2014 Champions from Tennessee include Methodist Primary Care Group in Memphis and four providers at Stern Cardiovascular Foundation in Germantown.
2013
Broadway Internal Medicine
Queens, NY
Broadway Internal Medicine is a Queens-based family practice founded by Carlos Gonzalez, MD, and Luz Ares, MD, who wanted to make real change within their community, especially among Spanish-speaking residents with whom the couple—originally from Puerto Rico—shares a language.
Jennifer Brull, MD
Plainville, KS
Jennifer Brull, MD, is a family physician in rural northwest Kansas who serves nearly 600 adult patients each year, almost half of whom have been diagnosed with high blood pressure. Dr. Brull teamed up with four other medical practices to pool resources, forming a medical collaborative called Post Rock Family Medicine.
Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene
Cheshire County, NH
In 2006, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, set out to become the healthiest community in America by 2020. To achieve this goal, partners
across the county—including Cheshire Medical Center/ Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene—joined forces to tackle an array of health issues.
Kaiser Permanente
Northern California
Facing a hypertension control rate of 40% in 2001, Kaiser Permanente Northern California doctors knew they could do better. Over the course of the next decade, the health system employed additional strategies to increase its hypertension control rate.
Nilesh V. Patel, MD, FRCS(Eng)
Audubon, PA
Nilesh V. Patel, MD, FRCS(Eng), has a family practice at Millgrove Medical Center, which has increased its focus on preventive care and wellness over the past few years, particularly for patients with chronic conditions like high blood pressure.
Pawhuska Indian Health Center
Osage County, OK
The Pawhuska Indian Health Center, part of the Indian Health Service, provides care for American Indians in the northeast region of Oklahoma. This patient population faces disproportionately high rates of chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
River Falls Medical Clinic
River Falls, WI
Many patients in River Falls Medical Clinic’s population in western Wisconsin struggle with coexisting chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The clinic and its sister locations set out to improve hypertension control rates.
ThedaCare
Appleton, WI
Hypertension, also called high blood pressure, is the leading clinical diagnosis at ThedaCare—a health care system in Wisconsin—meaning far too many patients are living with an increased risk for heart attack and stroke.
Veterans Health Administration
The Veterans Health Administration in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has a long history—going back to the mid-1990s—of a strong focus on transparency and performance management and using that approach to drive improvements in care for veterans.
2012
Ellsworth Medical Clinic
Ellsworth, WI
Kaiser Permanente Denver
Denver, CO
