With high blood pressure affecting over a third of residents, a collaboration aims to break down barriers to care and save lives
At least 33 percent of people in North Philadelphia suffer from high blood pressure. But many don’t know it – that’s why hypertension is often called “the silent killer.” By age 55, three out of four Black adults have developed the condition, compared to about 47.5 percent of white adults. Left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, dementia and kidney failure.
Temple Health has joined with Penn Medicine and the Greater Philadelphia American Heart Association to expand the Team Up to Take Down High Blood Pressure initiative into North Philadelphia, marking year two of the collaborative effort, which launched last fall in West and Southwest Philadelphia. The initiative aims to remove barriers to accurate blood pressure measurement and improve early diagnosis and treatment in partnership with healthcare providers.
“We are proud to welcome Temple Health to this growing initiative,” said Jennifer Litchman-Green, executive director, American Heart Association of Greater Philadelphia. “Expanding into North Philadelphia strengthens our ability to address inequitable health outcomes and improve blood pressure management across more communities. Together, the Heart Association, Penn Medicine and Temple Health are building a sustainable model for cardiovascular health that can be replicated citywide.”
The current goal of the Team Up to Take Down High Blood Pressure initiative is that by 2027, five health centers and 15 community sites will have implemented evidence-based strategies, including community-based blood pressure screening and referral programs, clinic-based self-measured blood pressure, collaborative strategic planning and annual training for healthcare organizations on the latest best practices in the management of hypertension.
Officially joining the collaboration and launching on November 17, this year’s collaborators will join existing project partners to receive program information and actionable next steps.
Clinical partners from year one included Family Practice and Counseling Services Network, Greater Philadelphia Health Action, and Spectrum Health Services. Community partners included Southwest CDC, Second Antioch Baptist Church Food Pantry and Samuel Gompers School. Year two will welcome new clinical and community partners from North Philadelphia and three new community partners from West and Southwest Philadelphia.
The initiative will also feature a public awareness campaign focused on empowering residents to regularly check their blood pressure and understand the risks and management strategies for hypertension. Temple Health will also co-host an annual learning collaborative with Penn Medicine and the Heart Association to share best practices and address barriers to effective blood pressure control.
The Team Up initiative will also collaborate with clinics and community organizations to implement evidence-based strategies that reduce barriers to early hypertension diagnosis and promote education for effective risk reduction and long-term management.
“Temple Health is deeply committed to the well-being of North Philadelphia,” said Abhinav Rastogi, M.B.A., M.I.S., executive vice president of Temple University Health System and president & CEO of Temple University Hospital. “Joining Penn Medicine and the Heart Association in this initiative allows us to work together with our neighbors to tackle one of the most pressing health challenges in our community. By combining clinical expertise with grassroots engagement, we can make a lasting impact on high blood pressure and the lives it affects.”
“Temple Health’s entrance into this initiative marks a pivotal moment in our collective fight against high blood pressure,” said Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO, University of Pennsylvania Health System. “By bringing together the American Heart Association and two of Philadelphia’s leading academic health systems, we’re not only expanding our geographic reach but also combining our organizations’ strengths to innovate how we deliver care, engage communities, and dismantle longstanding barriers that prevent people from accessing the care they need. This is what transformative collaboration looks like.”
This initiative represents a powerful collaboration aimed at taking a proactive approach to cardiovascular health with a goal of implementing sustainable approaches that will last well beyond the three-year initiative and can be taken to other communities in Philadelphia and beyond.
For more information on the Initiative, contact Jeffrey Salvatore, MSN, RN, CCRN-CMC, vice president, Community Impact, American Heart Association of Greater Philadelphia, at Jeffrey.salvatore@heart.org.