ECU Physicians receives “Gold Level” distinction from the American Heart Association
ECU Physicians primary care clinics have been recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA) for achieving “Gold Level” status for their commitment to treating patients with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.
This was the third consecutive year that ECU Physicians, the medical practice of East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine, received recognition through the Target BP program, a joint initiative between the AHA and the America Medical Association to recognize clinics that “meet a high bar of excellence around hypertension control.” Clinics achieve Gold Level status when 70% of their patients who are hypertensive are at control.
ECU Physicians Outpatient Clinical Director Dr. Muna Mian examines a patient and checks her blood pressure at the Moye Boulevard Medical Clinic. (Photo by Rhett Butler)
This year, ECU Physicians also earned the “Gold Level” recognition through the Check, Change and Control Cholesterol program and the Target Type 2 Diabetes program.
“This recognition is a testament to our team’s patient-centered care,” said Dr. Jason Foltz, chief medical officer of ECU Physicians. “This is great recognition to the incredible work our teams are doing to focus on improving risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Working together to control important risk factors like blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol control along with smoking cessation and maintaining a healthy weight are essential to keep our population healthy and why at ECU Physicians we say, ‘Your Wellness. Our Specialty.’”
Dr. Kelly Philpot, medical director of the ECU FireTower office, said the awards highlight ECU Physicians’ efforts to protect patients in eastern North Carolina from heart disease and allows ECU Physicians to gauge success in improving long-term patient outcomes.
“Perhaps our efforts can reduce the leading causes of death in our area,” Philpot said. “The most important thing for any physician to advocate for is great patient care for all patients. This award just allows us to know we are doing a good job managing blood pressure and heart disease across our entire patient population.”
The Target BP program celebrates physician practices and health systems that treat patients with hypertension for achieving blood pressure control rates within the populations they serve. The ECU Physicians primary clinics that received the honor include the following:
- Family Medicine Gold Module
- Family Medicine Pirate Module
- Family Medicine Purple Module
- Family Medicine Geriatric Module
- Family Medicine Buccaneer Module
- General Internal Medicine
- FireTower Medical Office
- Adult and Pediatric Healthcare
The Check, Change and Control Cholesterol program focuses on addressing high cholesterol through risk assessment and appropriate therapies. The Gold Level honor recognizes practices that have fulfilled the participant criteria and have 70% or more of their adult, at-risk patient population appropriately managed with statin therapy. The ECU Physicians primary care clinics that earned this honor include the following:
- Family Medicine Gold Module
- Family Medicine Pirate Module
- Family Medicine Purple Module
- Family Medicine Geriatric Module
- Family Medicine Buccaneer Module
- General Internal Medicine
- FireTower Medical Office
- Adult and Pediatric Healthcare
The Target Type 2 Diabetes program addresses risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes as part of the AHA and American Diabetes Association’s Know Diabetes by Heart initiative. Gold Level recognizes practices that improve quality of care through awareness, detection and management of type 2 diabetes through educating and empowering patients with evidence-based information and tools. The ECU Physicians primary care clinics that earned this honor include the following:
- Family Medicine Gold Module
- Family Medicine Pirate Module
- Family Medicine Purple Module
- Family Medicine Geriatric Module
- Family Medicine Buccaneer Module
- General Internal Medicine
- FireTower Medical Office