OSF HealthCare has been selected to participate in an initiative aimed at advancing the management of high blood pressure.
The Peoria-based health system announced Tuesday it has been awarded $2.5 million from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute for its Health Systems Implementation Initiative focused on hypertension. OSF is one of 42 systems across the country participating in the program.
“We are excited to collaborate across OSF and other national colleagues through this initiative, leveraging our collective resources to improve the care and experience of those we serve.” Melinda Cooling, OSF chief nurse and advanced practice provider executive, said in a media release.
“By translating research into practice, OSF will continue to demonstrate our commitment to innovation, exceptional clinical care, and delivering the highest quality support to those we have been called to serve.”
OSF says nearly half of all U.S. adults have hypertension, one of the nation’s top risk factors for heart disease and death. However, health care providers still face clinical challenges in accurate diagnosis of high blood pressure and long-term treatment.
Over the next four years, OSF will use the program funding to strengthen hypertension treatment for more than 100,000 patients across 123 adult primary care facilities.
Key focus areas include integrating evidence-based care strategies, providing advanced training, overcoming barriers and addressing social determinants of health, engaging patients through digital tools, and applying enhanced data analytics toward positive outcomes.
Rural health care funding
Separately, U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., announced OSF has been awarded $750,000 in federal funding to expand health care access in rural areas.
The money comes in the form of a Rural Development grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“This initiative marks a significant step forward in our OSF mission to improve health equity and expand access to care,” OSF OnCall Digital Health President Jennifer Junis said in a media release.
The funding will equip three mobile locations that will provide digital enabled telehealth tools in Fulton, Knox, and Livingston counties. OSF medical professionals will offer service to the mobile units with medical professionals on board to provide ongoing and preventative health care for about 16,000 individuals.
“By expanding access to health care in rural areas, this funding will improve health care for thousands in the district,” Sorensen said in the release.
