Honor recognizes effectiveness of the Million Hearts® Fellowship program to reduce cardiovascular deaths
For the second consecutive year, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) presented The Ohio State University College of Nursing today with its Innovations in Professional Nursing Education Award in the Public Colleges/Universities category.
This year’s award recognizes the effectiveness and positive impact of the college’s Million Hearts® Fellowship program, an online, interprofessional educational and skills building program t
hat has been used throughout the U.S. by more than 180 academic institutions, community agencies and professional organizations, a collaborative known as the National Interprofessional Education and Practice Consortium to Advance Million Hearts® (NIEPCAMH). To date, the free, online educational program has:
- been implemented in every state in the country;
- screened and educated more than 96,000 people across the U.S. about cardiovascular risk reduction; and
- referred more than 45,000 people to healthcare providers for cardiovascular risk factors and abnormal clinical findings in order to seek preventative treatment options.
“This program has served as a great teaching tool in population health for our health sciences students and has made a huge impact on our nation’s heart health by identifying those at risk for cardiovascular disease and educating people on things they can do every day to prevent cardiovascular disease,” said Kate Gawlik, DNP, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, associate clinical professor at the College of Nursing and program manager for the Million Hearts® Fellowship. “We are so proud of the reach of this fellowship program because the more awareness and advocacy we can create, the more heart attacks and strokes we can prevent.”
The Million Hearts® Fellowship is one of the major assets cited when The Ohio State University and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center was recognized in February 2021 as a Million Hearts® Health System – the first in the Midwest and fourth in the nation – by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
“Even though heart disease remains the #1 killer in America, approximately 80% of it is preventable with just a few healthy lifestyle behaviors, including physical activity, healthy eating, not smoking and stress reduction. We must help people to realize that if they don’t take the time to engage in healthy behaviors now, they will need to take time for chronic disease later,” said Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer and dean of the College of Nursing. “Between the Million Hearts® Fellowship, our Ask-a-Buckeye-Nurse health screening outreach program and the expertise and dedication of the clinicians at our Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, Ohio State is shifting the paradigm from sick care to wellness and prevention, leading the way in dreaming, discovering and delivering a healthier world, one person at a time.”
According to AACN, the Innovations in Professional Nursing Education Award “recognizes the outstanding work of AACN member schools to re-envision traditional models for nursing education and lead programmatic change.”
The College of Nursing received the 2022 award today during AACN’s Academic Nurse Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. Last year, the College of Nursing won the award for the creation of its Telehealth Wellness Hub and Wellness Partner Program.
