In New Ulm, Minnesota, an exciting partnership focused on heart health formed in 2008. The program entitled "Hearts Beat Back: The Heart of New Ulm," has been a successful initiative to reduce heart attacks and improve heart disease risk in a rural Minnesota town. Features of this program include:

• Use of electronic health records for identifying at-risk individuals and neighborhoods and monitoring progress over time
• Interventions to fill gaps in the community, in healthcare, and at worksites
• Positive results on numerous modifiable risk factors related to heart disease
• Continuous improvement over the life of the program
• A sustainable approach led by community members

Over the first five years of the program, which included data on three-fourths of all community residents, results included significant improvements in blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose. Improvements were largely driven by individuals at high-risk levels at the start of the program.

The Public Health Foundation (PHF) hosted a webinar about this program on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 from 1-2pm EDT. To learn about this innovative program led by the New Ulm Medical Center (part of Allina Health) in partnership with Brown County Public Health, the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, city leaders and government, local public schools, chamber of commerce, and department of parks and recreation, view the archived webinar and review questions and answers shared during the webinar.

PHF helps communities create health improvement partnerships like the one profiled in this webinar. Hospitals and health systems, health departments, and community organizations, and cross-sector partnerships use PHF's sustainable population health solutions to create, strengthen, implement, and evaluate initiatives.

Webinar Presenters

Rebecca Lindberg, MPH, RDN
Director, Population Health and Professional Education
Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation

Cindy Winters

Heart of New Ulm Project Manager
Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation

Karen M. Moritz, RN, BSN, PHN

Director, Brown County Public Health