Community Health & Wellness Partners

2021 Hypertension Control Exemplar

Million Hearts^® recognizes Community Health & Wellness Partners (CHWP), a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in rural Ohio, as a Hypertension Control Exemplar for their outstanding efforts to engage patients with hypertension during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CHWP achieved this by bolstering participation in their virtual Chronic Care Management (CCM) program and using tele-pharmacy.

Successful Strategies

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the number of visits to CHWP fell by approximately 40%. To help patients manage their hypertension at home, CHWP enrolled patients with chronic disease into their CCM program.

Approximately 12% of patients contacted through staff outreach enrolled in the CCM program. Through a third-party platform, CCM care coordinators sent text messages twice a week to check in on enrollees’ health.

Care coordinators also used the platform to help manage care and offer lifestyle interventions and support. Enrollees with hypertension received text messages with DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet reminders, tips on monitoring blood pressure, and adjustments to their care based on the patients’ self-reported blood pressure measurements.

Overall, 97% of patients responded to the messages, and 91% of patients rated the service at least a 9 out of 10.

Telehealth video consultations with clinical pharmacists began in April 2020. If a patient did not have a smart device, they could drive to the health center and park in a reserved parking spot, where they were loaned a tablet connected to the health center’s extended Wi-Fi. Patients with limited Internet access were connected to neighbors who shared their smart devices or Internet.