Southwestern Health Resources Earns National Recognition for Efforts to Reduce Number of Patients With Uncontrolled Blood Pressure

The American Heart Association and American Medical Association celebrate Dallas-based organization for commitment to prioritizing blood pressure control

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Southwestern Health Resources (SWHR), the clinically integrated network of UT Southwestern and Texas Health Resources, has been recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Medical Association (AMA) for its commitment to helping improve blood pressure (BP) control rates among the patient populations it serves, earning Gold, the highest level recognition, as part of the 2020 Target: BP™ Recognition Program.

The Gold Award recognizes practices that have 70% or more of their adult patient population with high BP controlled.

Hypertension (high BP) is a leading risk factor for heart attacks, strokes and preventable death in the U.S. In addition, there are 116 million U.S. adults living with high BP and less than half of those people have their BP under control — making both diagnosing and effectively managing hypertension critical. And following the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to prioritize hypertension control in the U.S. and research in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showing that overall rates of BP control have declined in recent years, optimizing hypertension control could not be more timely or needed.

“Receiving this recognition from the AHA and AMA is an honor and a testament to the efforts of our adult patient population (70% of them) — being able to manage their blood pressure,” said Dr. Jason Fish, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President at Southwestern Health Resources. “As a clinically integrated network, SWHR is dedicated to improving patient quality of life. The Target: BP initiative is a critical part of our efforts, helping us achieve and maintain improved quality scores and patient outcomes.”

Target: BP is a national collaboration between the AHA and the AMA aimed at reducing the number of Americans who suffer from heart attacks and strokes each year by urging physician practices, health systems and patients to prioritize BP control. The initiative aims to help healthcare organizations improve BP control rates through the use of the evidence-based AMA MAP BP™ quality improvement program. It also recognizes organizations committed to improving blood pressure control. Learn more at TargetBP.org.

About Southwestern Health Resources

Southwestern Health Resources, which blends the strengths of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Texas Health Resources, includes a network of 29 hospital locations and more than 5,000 providers, committed to being the national leader in population health. With more than 650 points of access to care, this provides for higher value and allows patients to access services across a full continuum of medical needs. The network serves people across 17 counties in North Texas. In total, Southwestern Health coordinates care for nearly 700,000 patients, aligned with commercial healthcare plans and Medicare programs. SWHR operates the nation’s highest-rated Next Generation Accountable Care Organization. Visit https://www.southwesternhealth.org/ for more information.