UK HealthCare and its collaborators receive distinguished CDC grant to enhance stroke treatment in Kentucky
The University of Kentucky HealthCare, UofL Health, and the Kentucky Department for Public Health's Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program have been awarded a significant grant to enhance stroke care across the state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has bestowed a Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program Grant worth $1.8 million.
This grant will be utilized over three years to optimize stroke prevention and improve care and outcomes for stroke patients throughout Kentucky. The project aligns with UK's mission to be not just the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky, creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence.
The project will expand existing systems of care to coordinate and extend access to rural and underserved populations. It will also increase participation in the statewide Kentucky Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force, involving community, primary care clinics, EMS, rehabilitation centers, and long-term care facilities.
The Kentucky Stroke Improvement Cooperative (KSIC) will be created to provide leadership for improving the quality of stroke care in Kentucky. The KSIC will utilize collaborative workgroups to turn knowledge into behavior change and increase the use of evidence-based guidelines for health systems change.
The KSIC's goals include increasing public awareness of stroke and related issues, identifying and eliminating disparities affecting health outcomes, providing education about stroke and its management, and serving as a link between the community and stroke care and supportive resources.
The grant will specifically target areas of Kentucky, such as Appalachian counties, that are disproportionately affected by stroke. These regions have a mortality rate 14% higher than the national average and 8% higher than the rest of the state.
The KSIC will expand coordination between existing programs like the Kentucky Stroke Encounter Quality Improvement Project, the statewide UK/Norton Healthcare Stroke Care Network, and the 36 certified Stroke Centers in Kentucky. It will also increase the dissemination of evidence-based guidelines for improvement of hypertension, obesity, and diabetes control, which are leading risk factors for stroke.
The grant validates the voluntary efforts of stroke center personnel, EMS representatives, community partners, KHDSP staff, and colleagues in public health, as well as all other stakeholders who have worked collaboratively to advance stroke systems of care in Kentucky since 2009.
Kentucky has among the highest rates of stroke-related deaths in the country, with over 2,000 Kentuckians dying from stroke or stroke-related complications each year. The goal of the KSIC is to reduce stroke disparities and deaths over the long term and improve outcomes throughout Kentucky.
UK HealthCare has been named the state's top hospital for five straight years. The University of Kentucky is recognized as a leader in diversity and inclusion, having been named among the best employers for diversity, a Diversity Champion, and a "Great College to Work for" multiple times. The name of the co-leader of the Kentucky Stroke Improvement Cooperative is not provided in the available search results.
The KSIC aims to increase access, understanding, utilization, and compliance with evidence-based performance measures of the American Heart Association's Get With the Guidelines Stroke Program. Kentucky health care systems and community providers will work together to implement comprehensive stroke systems for those at high risk for stroke and those who have had a stroke. The project is fully funded by CDC/HHS.
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