Missouri Hospital Association

2021 Hypertension Control Exemplar

Million Hearts^® recognizes the Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) located in Jefferson City, Missouri as a Hypertension Control Exemplar for their outstanding efforts to prioritize hypertension control during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Successful Strategies

With as many as 1 in 12 pregnancies across the country affected by hypertension – and as many as 1 in 5 in some regions – MHA knew they needed to help the pregnant and postpartum patients served by their member hospitals monitor their blood pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seeing the ability to empower and engage patients in their care by providing in-home telemonitoring as an important strategy, MHA implemented The Cuff Project™ in Missouri to get home blood pressure monitors into the hands of pregnant and postpartum women with low resources who were at high risk for complications. Using funding from the Missouri Foundation for Health, MHA purchased almost 3,000 Cuff Kits™ from the Preeclampsia Foundation. These kits included a validated home blood pressure monitor, patient and family education materials, and links to additional resources online.

Missouri providers requested kits from MHA to have on hand for distribution to patients and were required to provide the patients with telemonitoring/telehealth services for enhanced and more frequent blood pressure monitoring.

Participating organizations completed a survey, and many organizations reported that the patients benefitted from the ready access to the Cuff Kits™. Patients were empowered, used the kits for home monitoring, and were able to determine when they needed to return to the birthing unit or their clinician for ongoing management of high blood pressure.

The Missouri Hospital Association took full advantage of The Cuff Program offered by the Preeclampsia Foundation to ensure prenatal and postpartum patients throughout Missouri had the devices, education, and clinical support they needed to manage their blood pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Patients were empowered, used the blood pressure Cuff Kit™ for home monitoring, and were able to identify when to return to the birthing unit or their provider for ongoing management of high blood pressure—a leading cause of pregnancy-related mortality in Missouri and the United States.”

—Alison Williams MBA-HCM, RN, BSN, CPHQ, LSSGB, vice president of clinical quality improvement, Missouri Hospital Association

“Our providers are thrilled that we are able to send kits home with undelivered patients. It empowers patients to be part of their health care team and helps build the provider/patient relationship. In addition, the kits help identify maternal hypertension issues more quickly. At least three patients in the past month have returned to triage because their pressures were elevated at home!”

—participant of The Cuff Project™

Resources for Pregnant and Postpartum Patients and Their Care Providers

• CDC: High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Fact Sheet
• Preeclampsia Foundation: The Cuff Project™

Shareable Graphic

Share this graphic on social media to help congratulate MHA on their work to improve hypertension management during the COVID-19 pandemic.