Henry Ford Medical Group Joins National Effort to Reduce Blood Pressure

DETROIT - The Henry Ford Medical Group has joined Measure Up/Pressure Down, the three-year national campaign to improve blood pressure control.

The 1,200-member Henry Ford Medical Group, which staffs Henry Ford Hospital, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, and medical centers, is the only physician group in Michigan participating in the campaign.

Measure Up/Pressure Down aims to improve blood pressure control for 80 percent of patients with hypertension by 2016. Currently, the national average is approximately 60 percent.

To improve blood pressure control for its patients, the Henry Ford Medical Group will implement several best practices:

• Train all patient care staff to measure blood pressure in the same way.
• Standardize treatment guidelines in clinical care and monitor compliance.
• Put in place a prevention, engagement, and self-management program for patients with high blood pressure.

“Heart disease and stroke are two of the leading causes of deaths in Americans and uncontrolled hypertension is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke,” says William Conway, M.D., CEO of the Henry Ford Medical Group and chairman of the American Medical Group Foundation. “This campaign will help save lives.”

Richard Dryer, M.D., chief medical officer of Primary Care for the medical group, leads the campaign’s improvements efforts at Henry Ford.

The initiative, led by the American Medical Group Foundation, involves 140 medical groups and health systems, and 40 million patients, across the United States.

For more information on the campaign, visit www.MeasureUpPressureDown.com.