Boston, November 25, 2020 — We are pleased to announce that Fenway Health has received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes℠ Gold Award for implementing quality improvement measures addressing the relationship between diabetes and cardiovascular disease in outpatient settings.
Every 80 seconds, an adult with diabetes in the U.S. is hospitalized for heart disease, which can lead to a heart attack or other serious complications. To earn the Target: Type 2 Diabetes℠ award, organizations must commit to improving the health of their patients through high quality care related to type 2 diabetes and management of cardiovascular risk factors with the ultimate goal of reducing cardiovascular deaths, heart attacks, and strokes in people living with type 2 diabetes.
The Gold award recognizes practices that have fulfilled the Participant criteria AND have met the gold level thresholds for each of two selected clinical measures related to diabetes control and CVD risk factors, hypertension and high cholesterol. The AHA found that 80% of Fenway’s diabetic patients had blood glucose levels that met their standards of control.
In addition to the high quality care that our medical teams provide our diabetes patients, Fenway has continuous outreach campaigns to engage our diabetic patients. Staff reminds patients to schedule follow up appointments with their primary care providers to talk about managing diabetes, as well as to complete regular lab tests that track important indicators like blood glucose levels.
Starting in May, members of Fenway Health’s patient-centered medical home team, including Complex Care Manager Patrick Smith, RN, led targeted outreach efforts to our diabetic patients that have higher blood glucose levels. This outreach consisted of patient education, particularly around nutrition and healthy habits to help manage diabetes.
“Because data indicate that people with uncontrolled diabetes face an increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness, and because the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted usual diet and activity routines for many, we ran reports to identify high-risk diabetic patients and conduct proactive outreach to promote uptake of services – including telemedicine visits – that patients might use to bolster their health through the pandemic,” Smith explained.
“Given some limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on our ability to bring patients in for routine, in-office medical appointments and labs, our team nurses also encouraged patients to keep accurate records of their exercise, dietary intake, and blood sugars before and after telemedicine appointments. This maximizes the utility of appointments and provides a framework for ongoing health promotion education,” he added. “We look forward to continuing and expanding this work – both within and outside the context of diabetes – to promote glycemic control and overall wellness for all in our community.”