The University of Kentucky HealthCare, UofL Health, Kentucky Department for Public Health’s Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program (KHDSP), plus other state partners have been awarded the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program Grant (Coverdell Initiative) totaling $600,000 by CDC.
The $1.8 million grant aims to optimize both stroke prevention among those at high risk as well as improve the care and outcomes for stroke patients throughout Kentucky. The grant funding will be spread out over three years and allow the coordination and expansion of existing efforts to improve stroke-related health outcomes.
The grant funding will help both Kentucky healthcare systems and community providers work together to implement comprehensive stroke systems for those at high risk for stroke and for those that have had a stroke.
Dr. Larry B. Goldstein, Chairman of the University of Kentucky’s Department of Neurology and Co-Director of the Kentucky Neuroscience Institute and PI for the grant project said, “This grant award could not come at a better time, because Kentucky has among the highest rates of stroke-related deaths in the country. Over 2,000 Kentuckians die from stroke or stroke-related complications each year.”
The Coverdell Initiative will allow expansion of statewide efforts to serve rural and underserved citizens of the Commonwealth to reduce disparities and monitor progress. The program will provide continuous quality improvement from the moment a patient has a stroke through their emergency services, hospitalization, and rehabilitation, and provide outpatient preventive care.
The Program will disseminate evidence-based guidelines to improve hypertension, obesity, and diabetes control, which are the leading risk factors for stroke disproportionately affecting high burden populations. The goal is to reduce stroke disparities and deaths over the long term and improve outcomes throughout Kentucky with a focus on Appalachia and the underserved communities at highest risk.
Go to https://ukhealthcare.uky.edu for UK HealthCare, https://UofL.Health for UofL Health, https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dph/dpqi/cdpb/Pages/heartdiseasestroke.aspx for KHDSP, and go to https://cdc.gov/dhdsp/programs/stroke_registry.htm for the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program.