 |
 |
Send to a Friend |
|
|
|
The Center for Healthcare Innovation at AllinaBrief: The Heart of New UlmBackgroundRecent studies indicate that 90 percent of first heart attacks can be accounted for by nine risk factors: smoking, fruit/vegetable consumption, exercise, alcohol use, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, blood lipids, and psychosocial stress. The good news is that all of these risk factors are modifiable, meaning they have the potential to change and reduce the risk of a heart attack. Formal cardiovascular disease prevention efforts in the past have had mixed results, with very limited impact on morbidity and mortality in the United States beyond general trends in these outcomes that were occurring naturally. More recently, scientists have found that mortality from heart attacks has continued to decline, but the number of heart attacks has basically remained steady. This has significant implications on health care costs and general quality of life because, as the population grows, there are more people having to live with the burden of heart disease and requiring costly medical care. Effective primary and secondary prevention strategies are needed to reduce the number of heart attacks on a population-wide scale. To be effective, new solutions need to be developed to address lifestyle (e.g., nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco use), community and health care system issues. In order to make such changes on a population-wide scale, however, novel approaches with strong partnerships within American communities will need to be developed. IntentThe Heart of New Ulm initiative is an innovative and visionary effort to eliminate heart attacks among residents of New Ulm, Minnesota. New Ulm is a geographically contained area, allowing Allina to implement new approaches to care, leverage the power of our electronic medical record, explore new models of payment, and to think innovatively about population health and wellness. In an effort to improve primary and secondary prevention strategies for heart disease, Allina will partner with the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, as well as community, government, business and other local stakeholders to conduct a long-term initiative focusing on the City of New Ulm. We believe that the lack of a reduction in incident heart attacks needs to be addressed. We also believe that new solutions for identifying and treating risk factors for heart disease (e.g., high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol) and treating diagnosed heart disease and managing associated health care costs can be improved. Most importantly, we are committed to sharing best practices and knowledge gained. We believe that targeted, sustainable interventions in New Ulm will create a model that can be adapted to other markets and disease states. Desired outcomesWe will attempt to significantly reduce and eventually eliminate heart attacks in New Ulm residents. This will be accomplished through aggressive population identification and community-wide interventions designed to improve the risk factors that drive heart attacks. ApproachAllina will undertake a five-year effort to identify health risks, track the health of the population and provide early interventions to improve health and reduce heart disease. Today, about 90 percent of New Ulm residents are patients at the New Ulm Medical Center and have an electronic medical record. This record gives Allina a groundbreaking opportunity to achieve this vision for a healthier community. To be successful, the goals need to address the various population segments and disease risk levels. Interventions will engage healthy individuals (e.g., health assessments and community-wide fitness challenge), moderate risk individuals (e.g., weight management and stress reduction programs), high risk individuals (e.g., nutritional genomics and coronary-artery calcium scoring), and individuals with active disease (e.g., disease management programs). FundingAllina, through The Center for Healthcare Innovation, will commit about $200,000 for the remainder of 2008 to establish a work plan and engage leading experts across multiple disciplines in developing the goals, outcomes and interventions to be developed and implemented as part of this project. Next stepsIdentify all of the partners and stakeholders who should be involved in the project. Form an oversight committee to:
Proposed timeline and work plan for the Heart of New Ulm initiativePhase one: Development of project work plan and mobilization of key individuals and organizations
Phase two: Plan for action
Phase three: Track progress and outcomes
Related Links Fact sheet: The Center for Healthcare Innovation at Allina News release: Allina Hospitals & Clinics establishes new Center for Healthcare Innovation
|
|