Tuesday, May 13, 2025
5/13/2025
SCREENING AND EVALUATION FOR WOMEN ACROSS THE NATION - Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Nevada and stroke is listed as the fifth most deadly disease for Nevadans. Heart disease and stroke accounted for nearly 40% of Nevada deaths due to disease. Nevada health trends for cardiovascular disease (CVD) parallel national trends, with more males (8%) having been diagnosed with a heart attack than females (5%), but more females experiencing a stroke (4.4%) than males (4.2%). Rural Nevadans suffer from mortality due to heart disease at a higher rate (at a high of 505.5 per 100,000 in Mineral County) than their urban counterparts (185.9 per 100,000 in Clark County and 212.7 in Washoe). In a sample of patients seen at Nevada Health Centers (NVHC), a statewide federally-qualified health center (FQHC) serving low-income populations, 61% of patients had been diagnosed with hypertension, 31% were overweight, and 56% were obese. Rural residents also experience higher mortality due to stroke (57.3 per 100,000 in Elko County) than their urban counterparts (36.4 per 100,000 in Clark County, 35.0 for Washoe). Over the next decade, the population of rural and frontier Nevada is projected to grow by 1.5%, increasing the need for services and highlighting current health care disparities. Nevada’s Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Section intends to extend preventive health services to low-income women ages 40-64 years who are uninsured or underinsured and who are participants of the Women’s Health Connection Program. These extended health services will include assessment of CVD risk factors and provision of services to reduce those risks through improved diet, physical activity, tobacco cessation, and medication adherence support. Systems are already in place to provide these services using Community Health Workers (CHWs), electronic health record alignment, team-based care, electronic referrals, community-clinical linkages, and health systems change. This will be achieved by implementing key evidence-based strategies, using surveillance data, and collaborating with national, statewide, and local partners. Nevada’s application addresses the Core Component of this funding opportunity and is designed to reduce CVD risk factors including high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, obesity, poor nutrition, inactivity, diabetes, and smoking by: 1. Tracking and monitoring clinical measures to improve healthcare quality and identify patients with hypertension; 2. Implementing team-based care to reduce CVD risk with a focus on hypertension control and management; 3. Linking community resources and clinical services to support bi-directional referrals, self-management, and lifestyle changes for women at risk for CVD. Further detail on outcomes and related strategies are included in the Work Plan. Year 1 will focus on low-income, uninsured and underinsured women in Nevada’s two (2) urban counties, Washoe and Clark. During Year 1, services will be provided through a contract with Access to Healthcare Network for services rendered at Community Health Alliance, a FQHC in Washoe County, and Guadalupe Medical Center in Clark County. The long-term project outcomes include: 1) increasing blood pressure control and 2) improving detection, prevention, and control of CVD among Nevada’s WISEWOMAN participants. Therefore, the ultimate outcome of the project proposal is to increase the number and percent of WISEWOMAN participants in Nevada with known hypertension who have achieved or are currently maintaining blood pressure control.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).