Advancing Million Hearts through Community Partnerships and Outreach

Purpose: The Million Hearts^® initiative aims to increase awareness about heart disease prevention and to empower patients to take control of their heart health. The goals of this session are to provide examples for nursing and interprofessional colleges of Million Hearts outreach and engagement opportunities and to provide an overview of a 3 class community course designed for participants who screen positive. Methods: The Ohio State University is currently participating in several Million Hearts community outreach activities include engaging local congregations, participating in community health fairs and corporate screenings, and initiating the Wellness On Wheels (WOW) Tour. WOW is a three city bus tour conducted by an interprofessional team of students and faculty focused on doing Million Hearts screenings and education. The Ohio State University College of Nursing is also partnering with OSU Extension to bring Million Hearts screenings and educational classes to rural Ohio. OSU Extension, in collaboration with the College of Nursing, has developed a curriculum centered around the “ABCSs” that will provide further information on how to reduce cardiovascular modifiable risk factors and help people make healthy behavior changes.  The curriculum centers around hands-on education such as food preparation and sample tastings, how to monitor blood pressure, and stress reduction methods.  Nursing students conduct the initial screenings and the Extension educators teach the classes. Findings: There  are endless possibilties to advancing Million Hearts^® through community outreach. Community engagement and screenings are beneficial and well received by the community.  Implications: Colleges of Nursing can find many ways to engage the community and their students in Million Hearts^® while contributing to national health promotion initiatives.