Forty-three-year-old Michael walked into the George Washington University Hospital Emergency Room complaining of chest pain. The Washington D.C. handyman had no health insurance but was not eligible for any financial assistance programs.
Screening Programs
Over the past 2 years the Foundation has partnered with leading facilities and companies to provide cardiac screenings to the under-served population. It is important to the Foundation that we not only give individuals their results but that we have immediate follow up counseling to help those who have been screened understand what to do with the results.
Our goal with these efforts is to make significant advances in reducing health disparities in cardiovascular disease through promoting heart health at the community level by encouraging early diagnosis and taking steps to prevent and control factors that put people at greater risk.
The Foundation achieves this goal by targeting under-served residents within the community and providing access to free a cardiovascular screenings, education and counseling event. The program provides standard preventive services including blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index and PAD testing. Men and women are not just tested—healthcare counselors provide individual advice on managing their heart health and providing health coverage options.
The LKCF accomplishes this goal with like-minded organizations. Cardiovascular screenings are a community collaboration funded by the LKCF through grants, gifts in kind and partnerships. The following organizations are partnering on this initiative:
- National Institute of Health: National Heart Lung Blood Institute
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Cover the Uninsured
- Sister to Sister: Everyone Has a Heart
- Renowned hospitals, as local host, in each market, e.g. Cleveland Clinic, New York Presbyterian, LA County Hospital and many others
Additionally the Foundation has forged a partnership with LifeLine (http://www.lifelinescreening.com/) screeing to provided testing for underserved patients at our health forums as well Lifeline provides free screenings to the underserved throughout the year at their screenings throughout the nation.
Of those screened in 2008 at the three outreach and screening programs, some were at high risk for heart disease and stroke 48% had high cholesterol, 70% were overweight or obese, 45% were hypertensive or borderline hypertensive, 38% were hyperglycemic or borderline hyperglycemic and 5% smoked. 45% of attendees qualified for PPA (free prescription plan) and 8% qualified for Medicaid. Educational and lifestyle information/intervention materials are disseminated to more than 3,500 people that target poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and smoking to promote lasting, healthy lifestyle changes. Two patients who were screened with abnormal results were admitted to our local facility where they were treated at no cost.
