Capital Health has been awarded a grant through the Collaborative for Equity in Cardiac Care, a five-year initiative funded by the Merck Foundation aimed at enhancing access to high quality, person-centered health care for people living with heart conditions in the United States. As one of 11 awardees in the United States, Capital Health will receive $1.7 million over five years to develop its Cardiac Opportunities for Resilience and Empowerment (CORE) Program as part of its Institute for Urban Care. The program’s goal is to help to close gaps in the delivery of cardiac care to underserved communities in Trenton, New Jersey.
“Capital Health has a long history of working with community partners to address the health care challenges that impact Trenton residents every day,” said Dr. Eric Schwartz, executive director of Capital Health’s Institute for Urban Care and director of the CORE Program. “Our CORE Program aims to connect people living with heart conditions with care providers, community education programs, and guidance for healthy eating, all of which will enable them to better self-manage their heart health.”
Residents in the City of Trenton face a number of systemic barriers and inequities. Life expectancy is 4.4 years less than other measured cities, 26% percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and the incidence of cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension, impacts more than one third (36.1%) of the community.
Through the Merck Foundation’s Collaborative for Equity in Cardiac Care, Capital Health’s CORE Program will build sustainable community partnerships to address barriers to cardiac care and improve outcomes and quality of life for people with heart conditions. Capital Health will work with Trenton Health Team and other community partners to manage and monitor the CORE program.
“Cardiovascular disease continues to be the number one cause of death for men and women living in the U.S., and its burden hits under-resourced communities the hardest. By addressing the medical and social needs of people living with heart conditions, the Collaborative for Equity in Cardiac Care will have a significant, lasting impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities across the country,” said Kalahn Taylor-Clark, vice president and head, Social Impact & Sustainability, Merck.
Capital Health recently opened its new, state-of-the-art Al Maghazehe Heart and Vascular Center at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, marking a significant expansion that covers 12,650 square feet with three operating rooms: one cardiac surgery room for open-heart procedures, one hybrid operating room, and one catheterization laboratory for interventional procedures. The new center is part of the larger Capital Health Heart and Vascular Institute, which offers comprehensive care with a multi-specialty approach at locations throughout the greater Mercer and Bucks county region.
In addition to Capital Health, Merck Foundation’s program grantees include La Clínica del Pueblo, Public Health Institute/Population Health Innovation Lab, University of Chicago, UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care, Providence Medical Foundation, The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, Zufall Health Center, Georgia State University Research Foundation/Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement, MedNorth Health Center, and Gallup Community Health.
Capital Health Institute for Urban Care works to advance the health and well-being of Trenton residents by growing and aligning Capital Health’s services with a robust network of community partners in the City of Trenton to improve medical care while overcoming the complex social determinants of health. To learn more about the Institute, visit capitalhealth.org/urbancare.