APhA and CDC select Community of Practice Teams to advance health equity and prevent heart disease and stroke

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and CDC are proud to announce the selected Community of Practice (CoP) Teams as part of the Advancing Health Equity with Pharmacy-Based Strategies, Pharmacists Patient Care Services and Support Services project to advance health equity and prevent heart disease and stroke in the United States.

Teams from state and local health departments, state pharmacy associations, professional organizations, colleges of pharmacy, pharmacy practice settings, and community-based organizations were invited to submit applications for consideration. Following a competitive application and evaluation process, six teams were selected to participate in the project based on their composition, qualifications, and commitment to cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention.

    --  A collaboration between the California Department of Public Health, the
        Los Angeles Department of Public Health, the University of Southern
        California Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical
        Sciences, the California Pharmacists Association, and the American Heart
        Association has helped scale value-based comprehensive medication
        management services through community-based pharmacies for patients
        experiencing health disparities in cardiovascular disease and stroke
        prevention, including certification of pharmacy technicians as community
        health workers.
    --  To tackle health disparities in the state, the Minnesota Department of
        Health and Hennepin Healthcare, a safety net hospital system, have
        partnered to provide pharmacist-driven medication management services
        and improve hypertension management.
    --  Partnerships between the Mississippi State Department of Health, the
        Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network (CPESN) Mississippi, and
        the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy will train
        pharmacy-based community health workers to screen for social
        determinants of health, identify patients at risk, and connect these
        patients to cardiovascular health resources.
    --  The State of Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services will
        partner with Bitterroot Drug and Thrifty Drug to drive the adoption of
        social determinants of health screeners in community-based pharmacies
        and improve referrals to local resources for patients with
        cardiovascular disease.
    --  The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, St. John's
        University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences have partnered with
        Allure Specialty Pharmacy, Burke Avenue Pharmacy, Felicity Pharmacy, and
        Marble Hill Pharmacy. These pharmacies serve patients with a high
        prevalence of poverty and chronic disease. This team will engage with
        CDC-trained Healthy Heart Ambassadors to improve patients' hypertension
        management through medication management and lifestyle modifications.
    --  Leveraging their long history of collaboration, the Pennsylvania
        Department of Health, the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Care Network, and the
        University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy aim to expand access to
        community pharmacy-enhanced patient care services. Their multifaceted
        approach trains pharmacy technicians to serve as community health
        workers, further integrates social determinants of health screenings to
        identify and resolve gaps that impact cardiovascular disease, enhances
        community pharmacist-physician collaborations, and explores remote
        patient monitoring.

The selected CoP Teams will accelerate the implementation of pharmacy-based strategies to advance health equity through initiatives that address racial and ethnic disparities in CVD risk factors, prevalence, or outcomes. The participants will engage with other CoP teams in virtual learning sessions and peer-to-peer learning opportunities and build capacity for health departments and pharmacy partners to implement promising program models in local communities.

Michael D. Hogue, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP, FFIP, executive vice president and CEO of APhA, said, "Pharmacists are natural collaborators. We are excited to see the models the CoP Teams employ to tackle CVD, including financial sustainability as a part of the model, to optimize public health and pharmacy partnerships to address the needs of local communities."

Dr. Janet Wright, MD, MACC, FPCNA, Director, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, CDC, commented, "Public health epitomizes a team sport, and pharmacists stand as vital members of this dynamic team. Collaboration across public health and clinical sectors is key in preventing and managing heart disease and stroke, addressing health disparities in our communities, and advancing health equity. We are delighted to support this collective effort and look forward to celebrating the results these teams will achieve in cardiovascular health and care."

This project was funded in part by a contracted project agreement with CDC, which is an agency of HHS.

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SOURCE American Pharmacists Association