The Gold Plus award recognizes practices that demonstrate a commitment to measurement accuracy and in which high blood pressure is controlled in 70% or more of the affected adult patients.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a leading risk factor for heart attacks, strokes and preventable death in the United States. Nearly half of adults in the country (121.5 million) are living with hypertension. Unfortunately, less than half of them have their BP under control, making both diagnosis and effective management critical. In the U.S., heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 5 causes of death, respectively, and stroke is a leading cause of disability.

“High blood pressure continues to be a leading risk factor of heart disease and stroke,” said John Szawaluk, MD, cardiologist and program director of clinical hypertension at The Christ Hospital Heart & Vascular Institute. “Addressing blood pressure management is key for better cardiovascular health especially when heart disease and stroke continue to be leading causes of death for adults in the United States. This award highlights our work as a community leader in lowering people’s risk of stroke and heart attack, which is essential to our mission.”

Target: BP is a national initiative formed by the American Heart Association and American Medical Association in response to the high prevalence of uncontrolled blood pressure. The initiative aims to help health care organizations and care teams, at no cost, improve blood pressure control rates through an evidence-based quality improvement program and recognizes organizations, like The Christ Hospital Health Network, that are committed to improving blood pressure control.

“By committing to helping more people in Cincinnati control their blood pressure and reduce their risks for future heart disease and stroke, The Christ Hospital Health Network is taking a key step to helping more people live longer, healthier lives,” said Yvonne Commodore-Mensah, PhD, MHS, RN, FAHA, Target: BP advisory group volunteer and associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. “The Christ Hospital Health Network’s participation in the Target: BP initiative shows its dedication to turning clinical guidelines into lifelines for patients and their families.”

About The Christ Hospital Health Network

The Christ Hospital Health Network consists of an acute care hospital located in Mt. Auburn, a remote hospital location in Liberty Township, five ambulatory outpatient centers and dozens of medical offices throughout the region. For more than 130 years, The Christ Hospital has provided compassionate care to those it serves. Made up for more than 1,300 physicians and more than 6,500 team members, our mission is to improve the health of our community by providing exceptional outcomes in an affordable way. The Network was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the #1 hospital in the Cincinnati Region and named to Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals list in 2023. It is also a Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award recipient, which recognizes top-performing healthcare organizations that achieve the 95th percentile or above of performance in patient experience.

About Target: BPTM

Target: BP is a national initiative formed by the American Heart Association and the American Medical Association in response to the high prevalence of uncontrolled blood pressure. Target: BP helps health care organizations and care teams, at no cost, improve BP control rates through an evidence-based quality improvement program and recognizes organizations committed to improving BP control.