UK Healthcare secures high-profile grant from the Centers for Disease Control for enhancing stroke treatment in Kentucky, through collaboration with partnering institutions.
University of Kentucky Leads $1.8 Million Stroke Improvement Project
The University of Kentucky (UK) is spearheading a significant initiative to enhance stroke care across Kentucky, particularly in underserved communities and rural areas. The project, named the Kentucky Stroke Improvement Cooperative (KSIC), has been awarded a $1.8 million Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program Grant by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The KSIC, which includes UK, UofL Health, the Kentucky Department for Public Health's Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program, and other state partners, aims to reduce stroke disparities and deaths over the long term and improve outcomes throughout Kentucky, with a focus on Appalachia and underserved communities at highest risk.
Dr. Larry B. Goldstein, chairman of the University of Kentucky Department of Neurology and co-director of the Kentucky Neuroscience Institute, is the principal investigator for the grant project. He will lead the coordinated effort to support and improve stroke care processes in Kentucky.
The UK/Norton Healthcare Stroke Care Network will work with area hospitals to provide clinical guidance and oversight to providers, with the goal of ensuring stroke patients receive the right treatment at the right time. The project will expand participation to community, primary care clinics, EMS, rehabilitation centers, and long-term care facilities.
The KSIC will collaborate with other organizations to enhance health and well-being for all Kentuckians at risk or affected by stroke. The project will increase the dissemination of evidence-based guidelines for improvement of hypertension, insurance control, and diabetes control.
The grant will specifically target areas of the Commonwealth, such as the Appalachian counties, which have a higher mortality rate due to stroke than the national average. The project will also coordinate and extend access to rural and underserved populations.
Kentucky health care systems and community providers will work together to implement comprehensive stroke systems for those at high risk for stroke and those who have had a stroke. The statewide Kentucky Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force will increase from 38 hospitals to improve stroke care for high-burden populations.
The KSIC will achieve its purpose by utilizing collaborative workgroups to turn knowledge into behavior change and to increase the use of evidence-based guidelines for health systems change. The project will increase access, understanding, utilization, and compliance with evidence-based performance measures of the American Heart Association's Get With the Guidelines Stroke Program.
The Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program will allow expansion of existing efforts to serve rural and underserved citizens of the Commonwealth, reduce disparities, and monitor progress. The grant aims to optimize stroke prevention and improve care and outcomes for stroke patients throughout Kentucky over the next three years.
Over the last 10 years, KHDSP and the Stroke Encounter Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP) have made significant strides improving stroke systems of care in the Commonwealth. This new project will build upon these successes to create a more equitable and effective stroke care system for all Kentuckians.
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