The Merck Foundation has launched Collaborative for Equity in Cardiac Care, a USD 22 million, five-year initiative aimed at enhancing access to high-quality, person-centered healthcare for people living with heart conditions in the US. Eleven organisations are receiving grants to support the development and implementation of evidence-informed, comprehensive programmes to improve health outcomes in communities where access to timely care for cardiovascular disease is a challenge.

“Cardiovascular disease continues to be the number one cause of death for men and women living in the US, and its burden hits under-resourced communities the hardest. By addressing the medical and social needs of people living with heart conditions, the Collaborative for Equity in Cardiac Care will have a significant, lasting impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities across the country,” said Kalahn Taylor-Clark, Vice President and Head, Social Impact and Sustainability, Merck.

The foundation is providing grants to select non-profit healthcare and public health organisations working with local community-based groups. As a collaborative, they will help bridge gaps in the delivery of care for a range of heart conditions and advance sustainable, and potentially scalable approaches to improve the lives of people with heart disease.

Collaborative programme grantees include Capital Health System (Trenton, New Jersey); The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness (Madison, Wisconsin); Gallup Community Health (Gallup, New Mexico); Georgia State University Research Foundation/Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement (Atlanta, Georgia); La Clínica del Pueblo (Washington, DC); MedNorth Health Center (New Hanover, North Carolina); Providence Medical Foundation (Sonoma County, California); Public Health Institute/Population Health Innovation Lab (Lake County, California); University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois); UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care (McKeesport, Pennsylvania) and Zufall Health Center (Morris County, New Jersey).

The foundation is also supporting the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity as the Collaborative’s National Programme Office (NPO), which will provide technical assistance to grantees as they build local partnerships and implement their programmes. The NPO will also foster peer-to-peer learning among grantees, conduct a cross-site evaluation and disseminate the collaborative’s results and lessons learned.

“Collaborative grantees serve a range of populations, and each one has firsthand experience in addressing the specific gaps in access to high-quality cardiac care in their communities. Bringing together these organisations to strengthen local partnerships and address the social and environmental factors that influence health will not only meet immediate patient need, but also pave the way for sustained improvements in the delivery of cardiac care across the US,” said Lisa A Cooper, MD, MPH, MACP, Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, and Director, Collaborative NPO.

The Collaborative for Equity in Cardiac Care builds on the Foundation’s legacy of investing in community-focused programmes that improve access to high-quality healthcare in underserved communities, including the Alliance for Equity in Cancer Care, which is currently operating in seven states.