You trust the familiar heart-check mark to help you evaluate your choices in the foods you buy.  Now the mark can also help you evaluate the CARE you receive in hospitals. 

There are new special versions of the mark that represent a different accreditation or certification hospitals can earn by meeting specific standards for the care of patients with heart disease and/or stroke.  The marks can only be displayed at hospitals that have achieved the defined requirements.  Please visit the Heart Check-Mark page to see the new versions and the standards they meet.

Healthier Americans for a Healthier Economy features six case studies focused on the relationship between health and economic development. The report examines how health affects the ability of states, cities and towns to attract and retain employers, and how workplace and community wellness programs help improve productivity and reduce health spending.

According to the report, more than half of all Americans currently live with one or more chronic disease, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. High rates of these diseases, which in many cases are preventable, are associated with increasing health care costs.

Please click here to access the full report.

The American Heart Association / American Stroke Association supports and advocates for public policies that will help improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths by coronary heart disease and stroke by 20 percent by 2020.


The following are the public policy priorities for West Virginia in 2011-2012:

• Tobacco Control – Support significant increase in tobacco excise taxes on all tobacco products with a portion of revenues generated by increased tobacco excise taxes allocated to tobacco control, prevention and cessation programs, and other heart disease and stroke related health initiatives.
• Tobacco Control – Advocate for comprehensive smoke-free laws at the local level that are in compliance with the Fundamentals of Smoke-free Workplace Laws.
• Obesity Prevention – Advocate to eliminate the use of industrially produced trans fats in schools including the elimination of partially hydrogenated oils in food preparation and require that all foods brought in to schools contain zero grams of trans fat as labeled.
• Surveillance – Advocate for the establishment of a statewide stroke registry that compiles stroke incidence and care information and statistics that align with the stroke consensus metrics developed and approved by the AHA/ASA, CDC and the Joint Commission.
• Health Care Access, Cost and Quality – Monitor opportunities within health reform implementation as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

We will continue to keep you updated as we advance these public policy priorities through 2012.

The American Heart Association / American Stroke Association supports and advocates for public policies that will help improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths by coronary heart disease and stroke by 20 percent by 2020. 


The following are the public policy priorities for Ohio in 2011-2012:

• Stroke Systems of Care – Pursue and promote Primary Stroke Center designation based on Joint Commission certification, or an equivalent process. 
• Stroke Systems of Care – Pursue a stroke registry that includes all 10 of the harmonized measures.
• Obesity Prevention – As a follow up to past work, pursue joint use liability policy to expand adult and child access to safe physical activity.
• Obesity Prevention– Improve the quality of physical activity and nutrition education through adoption of state health education standards.
• Quality Healthcare – Through efforts to expand medical home and reform Medicaid, work to ensure adherence to clinical guidelines.

We will continue to keep you updated as we advance these policy priorities through 2012.

• Obesity Prevention – Promote physical activity in Kentucky communities by improving joint use agreement policies so school grounds can be used after hours without liability risks.
• Tobacco Control – Advocate for a comprehensive statewide smoke-free law that is in compliance with the Fundamentals of Smoke-free Workplace Laws. 
• Tobacco Control – Advocate for comprehensive smoke-free laws at the local level that are in compliance with the Fundamentals of Smoke-free Workplace Laws.
• Surveillance – Advocate for the establishment of a statewide stroke registry that compiles stroke incidence and care information and statistics that align with the stroke consensus metrics developed and approved by the AHA/ASA, CDC and the Joint Commission.
• Health Care Access, Cost and Quality – Monitor opportunities within health reform implementation as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
• Health Care Access, Cost and Quality – Monitor implementation of Medicaid managed care to ensure that Kentucky Medicaid recipients have adequate access to essential benefits.

We will continue to keep you updated as we advance these policy priorities through 2012.

Millions of heart disease and stroke patients may now have a greater opportunity to receive more affordable and timely medical care with changes to the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). The American Heart Association is extremely pleased that the Department of Health and Human Services has made it easier to enroll and lowered premiums to increase access for more Americans. Uninsured patients are now able to sign up for the Plan with a note from a provider confirming their illness rather than wait to be denied coverage from an insurance company and premiums will drop as much as 40 percent in 18 states. More than half of the uninsured with cardiovascular disease say cost is the primary reason for lack of coverage. These adjustments to PCIP will open doors for patients who have been unable to participate due to high premiums or difficulties getting paperwork.

We commend HHS for stepping up efforts to educate insurance companies, providers and patients about the benefits of PCIP created under the Affordable Care Act as an option for uninsured individuals with pre-existing conditions. These modifications will reduce the ranks of the uninsured and give more heart disease and stroke patients access to services that will improve their quality of life.

For more information, visit http://www.pcip.gov/
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Ohio recently received $2.8 million in federal funds, as part of a grant through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to help train health care workers at twenty-four Ohio institutions. (Source: "Ohio will receive $2.8 million to train health-care workers," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Aug. 6, 2010). With $159.1 million to be distributed nationally, these funds are being given to programs that bolster nursing education and prepare faculty to train future nurses ($106 million); fund geriatric education and training programs ($29.5 million); and work to improve recruitment and performance of minority students preparing for careers in health ($23.6 million).

Additionally, last year the Health Policy Institute of Ohio released a report entitled "Future of the Nursing Workforce in Ohio" (pdf, 24 pages), that examined ways in which the state can address an anticipated serious shortage of nurses by 2025.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is proud to announce the publication of the Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit. The toolkit is based on the principles of universal precautions, or specific actions that providers can take to make health information more understandable for all patients. It is designed to be used by all levels of staff in practices providing primary care for adults and/or pediatric patients.
The toolkit includes:

• A Quick Start Guide
• The Path to Improvement, which outlines the six steps to fully implement the toolkit
• Twenty short tools to identify and address areas that need improvement
• Links to Internet resources
• An appendix with resources to support implementation, such as sample forms, posters, PowerPoint presentations, and worksheets.

The toolkit was developed for AHRQ by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Download a copy of the Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit from: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/literacy/

You can also access an online version of the toolkit at: http://www.nchealthliteracy.org/toolkit