St. Luke’s P.S. Rudie Medical Clinic was recognized by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Million Hearts® as a 2014 Million Hearts Hypertension Control Challenge Champion for their success in helping patients control high blood pressure. This designation recognizes the clinic’s success in a year-long Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) collaboration with Stratis Health and Healthy Northland, a coalition that includes local clinics and community health boards covering seven counties.

Over the course of the MDH project, P.S. Rudie improved the blood pressure control rate of their patients from 73% to 86%. This significant change means that an additional 137 patients diagnosed with high blood pressure had it under control by the end of the project. These champion health care professionals and their team achieved this success through innovations in establishing home blood pressure monitoring, implementing hypertension treatment protocol and improving the accuracy of blood pressure measurement.

“Keeping blood pressure under control prevents heart attacks and strokes and saves lives,” said Toni Roberts, P.S. Rudie physician assistant. “Northeastern Minnesota has some of the highest hypertension rates in the state and we are pleased to see the significant improvement our patients have had controlling high blood pressure.”

There is strong evidence that when providers focus on hypertension control, rapid and substantial improvements can be made, and heart attacks and strokes are prevented. This accomplishment demonstrates that evidence-based strategies and system changes can play an important role in controlling high blood pressure. These types of successes can be best practices for clinics across the state in helping patients control high blood pressure.

“Healthy Northland and P.S. Rudie have been outstanding partners on the Million Hearts® project,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Ed Ehlinger. “Their commitment to meeting public health challenges in the communities they serve is commendable and worthy of this recognition.”

P.S. Rudie was also recently certified by MDH as a Health Care Home. A “health care home” is an approach to primary care where medical providers, families and patients work as a team to improve health outcomes and quality of life for individuals with chronic health conditions.

BELOW: Toni Roberts, physician assistant at P.S. Rudie Medical Clinic