I. Catholic Health Care Partners (CHP) Partnership for Quality

On October 1, 2003, The CHP Guidelines Applied to Practice (GAP) project began within the context of an Agency for Health Quality Research (AHRQ) grant. N-HeFT was selected to pilot several levels of training for the HF Advocates in the areas of their main responsibilities.

Implementation: They are responsible for managing the heart failure continuum of care in six CHP hospitals in Ohio and Kentucky in the role of systems managers. The activities of the HF Advocates are:

1. Maintain a sizeable caseload of HF patients at high risk for hospital readmission and death that includes providing aggressive post-discharge follow up.

2. Build effective and influential relationships with MDs, RNs, and administrators to improve use of evidence-based decision-making for HF patients along the entire continuum of care.

3. Evaluate and enhance the effectiveness of existing systems of HF care

4. Participate in planning and convening of HF educational and quality improvement forums.

Click here to learn more

II. The Ohio Heart Failure Coalition(OHFC):

Heart failure is the number one DRG diagnosis for Medicare patients and the single most common reason for hospitalization in the older population. The past decade has witnessed a wealth of new information. Organizations around the state of Ohio have sought to determine management techniques and patterns of implementation that appear to be particularly effective; however, management of these patients continues to be a challenge. This challenge calls for a statewide collaborative among organizations; simultaneously seeking to raise awareness and improve the continuum of heart failure care.

By consolidating resources and sharing best practices, the Ohio Heart Failure Coalition hopes to serve as a clearinghouse of information to both professionals and the general public, ultimately unifying expectations and reducing duplication of efforts.

Mission: To achieve transformational change across the continuum of heart failure care through innovative collaboration, dedicated to sharing best practices and resources:

Steering Committee

The leadership committee that offers guidance and expertise to the development of the coalition includes the following organizations:

American Heart Association, Ohio Valley Affiliate
American College of Cardiology, Ohio Chapter
Case Western Reserve University
Catholic Healthcare Partners
Ohio Department of Health
Ohio Hospital Association
Ohio KePRO
National Heart Failure Training Program

Click here to learn more

III. Family Medicine at CASE

In response to the increasing number of heart failure patients for family physicians and the need for better tools for patient care in a challenging, constantly changing environment, N-HeFT formed an educational partnership with Family Medicine at CASE in September of 2004. Weaving heart failure training, clinical practice, and evaluation of all levels of training into the curriculum for residents and faculty will take three years to roll out completely. The program is modeled on the new curriculum being developed for the medical school under the direction of Dr. Piña, who serves on the Scholars Collaboration Committee as a mentor at CASE. In 2006 the program will expand to The Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Administration Hospital.

Click here to learn more

IV. The Chronic Care Collaborative

University Hospitals of Cleveland, CASE, MetroHealth Medical Center and Louis B. Stokes Cleveland Veterans Administration Hospital have joined with 22 medical schools to change the paradigm of chronic disease management by redesigning resident-staffed clinics. University Hospital has identified heart failure as one of its target disease states for this pilot project and is working with The Douglas Moore Clinic and Bolwell Outpatient Clinic.

Click here to learn more

V. The Think Tank for Cardiovascular Research in Women

The Think Tank for Cardiovascular Research in Women, under the directorship of Dr. Ileana Piña and Dr. Eileen Hsich, was created in response to public health concerns resulting from disparities in the management of cardiovascular diseases and related outcomes in women. The purpose of the Think Tank is to provide an interdisciplinary forum to discuss promising and novel approaches to the management of cardiac disease and its risk factors and to identify promising new directions in related research. The Think Tank is supported by the Office of Women’s Health (US Public Health Service) and the CASE National Heart Failure Training Program.

The first meeting of the Think Tank took place at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland on February 16, 2006 with 43 of the leading women in cardiology and will meet quarterly to review current knowledge and make decisions about research topics to address with the ultimate goal of creating multi-center prospective studies for women with cardiovascular diseases.

Click here to learn more

Click here to view online presentations.