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Kelsey-Seybold Clinic Earns National Recognition for Efforts to Improve Cholesterol Control
The American Heart Association presents Check.Change.Control.Cholesterol™ award for commitment in prioritizing cholesterol management
Houston (September 17, 2018) – Kelsey-Seybold Clinic has received the American Heart Association’s Check.Change.Control.Cholesterol™ Gold award in recognition of their commitment to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke through improved cholesterol management.
High cholesterol is one of the major controllable risk factors for heart disease, heart attack, and stroke and is estimated to cause nearly 2.6 million deaths annually. Yet a survey from the American Heart Association shows that nearly two thirds of people who have high cholesterol don’t think they’re at high risk for a heart attack or stroke.
To help people better understand their risk and learn to manage their cholesterol, the Association launched its Check.Change.Control.Cholesterol™ initiative in 2017. Since then, more than 340 health centers and systems have registered to participate.
“Cholesterol management is essential to the overall health of our patients and the Clinic’s goal to help reduce the chance of cardiac incidents,” said Victor Simms, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P., Chief, Department of Internal Medicine, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. “Kelsey-Seybold Clinic has always taken heart health seriously, and to receive the Gold level recognition for a program like Check.Change.Control.Cholesterol™ means that what we’re doing is working toward prevention – which is the direction in which we should all be moving.”
To help practices achieve their goals, the Association provides all participants with a dedicated website featuring a free, evidence-based improvement program that includes tools and resources to help clinicians improve cholesterol-control rates. To facilitate easy and seamless adoption of the program, the Association provides access to trained support specialists within their community who can help identify specific program components to incorporate into clinical practice.
“We have a large body of evidence supporting the benefits and safety of cholesterol-lowering treatment, yet the challenge is that high cholesterol remains underdiagnosed and, therefore, undertreated. This program helps bring patients and healthcare providers together to recognize the issue, bring cholesterol under control, and help patients maintain control” said Alice K. Jacobs, M.D., Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs at Boston University Medical Center and past president of the AHA. “We applaud the providers who are already working to address cholesterol lowering, and we will continue to urge more physician practices, health systems, and patients to join this initiative to prioritize cholesterol control and ultimately improve health outcomes nationwide.”
Learn more at Check.Change.Control.Cholesterol
About Kelsey-Seybold
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic is Houston's premier multispecialty group practice, founded in 1949 by Dr. Mavis Kelsey in Houston's renowned Texas Medical Center. More than 650 physicians and allied health professionals practice at 35 locations in the Greater Houston area. Kelsey-Seybold offers quality medical care in 65 medical specialties. The organization operates the largest freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Center in the state of Texas and offers state-of-the-art Varian TrueBeam and Varian Edge radiation therapy technology at a nationally accredited Cancer Center. An accredited Sleep Center, comprehensive laboratory services, advanced imaging and diagnostics, 23 onsite Kelsey pharmacies and one specialty pharmacy, and MyKelseyOnline, a secure web portal, are part of its comprehensive offerings. Kelsey-Seybold partners with major insurers to offer value-based commercial health plans. KelseyCare Advantage, a Medicare Advantage plan offered to Houston-area beneficiaries and affiliated with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, has achieved the coveted 5-out-of-5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid for seven consecutive years.
Kelsey-Seybold has been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as the nation’s first accredited Accountable Care Organization and a Patient-Centered Medical Home. Kelsey-Seybold has many physicians in the Greater Houston area certified for excellence in diabetes and heart and stroke care by the NCQA. In addition to these recognitions, Kelsey-Seybold is home to a nationally accredited Breast Diagnostic Center and Endoscopy Center.
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