The Wake Forest School of Medicine https://school.wakehealth.edu received $2.8 million from The Duke Endowment to support five projects that will examine the role social determinants play in access to healthcare for people in North Carolina.
The Duke Endowment is a private foundation that strengthens communities in North and South Carolina by nurturing children, promoting health, and educating minds. So far, The Duke Endowment has distributed more than $4 billion in grants. The Endowment shares a name with Duke University and Duke Energy but are separate organizations.
The Department of Internal Medicine received $919,000 over three years to conduct a randomized controlled trial to increase access to virtual care for vulnerable populations including rural and older patients, lower income groups, and racial and ethnic minorities.
The Project called the Super Supporter Program is a joint effort with Atrium Health to evaluate and support the infrastructure for virtual care. The program will use a centralized team of patient navigators trained to reach out to patients to provide help in accessing and using virtual technology.
The Division of Public Health Sciences received $630,000 to conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a home-based monitoring system for new mothers who can sometimes develop serious high blood pressure complications following delivery.
New mothers will receive a blood pressure cuff for home monitoring with Bluetooth capability to provide readings directly to the patient’s doctor via a smart phone app. The doctor will monitor blood pressure in real time and decide if the woman needs to be seen before serious complications occur.
The Section of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine received $530,000 over three years to conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a community health worker program for frail older adults.
Traditional primary care focuses on chronic disease management which often does not include functional impairment and frailty assessments despite their predictive value for high cost healthcare, disability, nursing home admissions, and mortality.
The Department of Pharmacy at Wilkes Medical Center received $450,00 over two years to improve access to care for uninsured adults in Wilkes County who are at 200% or below federal poverty level.
The program at Wilkes links patients to primary care providers which has reduced hospital readmission rates by providing access to appropriate medications. The care has improved health outcomes through a evidence-based management program for patients with diabetes, hypertension, and mental health issues.
Value-based Care and Population Health received $311,000 over two years in support of their new paramedicine program. The funding will add registered nurse navigation and community paramedic support to work with complex chronic and recently discharged patients. The paramedics will provide home wellness visits, technology support for virtual medical monitoring or video doctor visits, and guidance on available community resources.