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iHEART Collaborative, Indiana University Health
You know the old saying: “If the mountain won’t come to you, then you must go to the mountain”? The Indianapolis Health Equity, Access, outReach & Treatment Collaborative is doing just that by bringing blood-pressure monitoring, cholesterol and diabetes screenings, and information about heart health to barbershops, Bible study groups, food pantries and neighborhood centers in Meadows/Martindale Brightwood, the United Northwest Area and the near-southeast side.
The iHEART Collaborative began to take shape in 2023 under the leadership of Dr. Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, vice president and chief health equity officer at Indiana University Health (and a 2024 IBJ Health Care Hero), and Calvin Sanders, then the health equity program manager (and a 2023 IBJ 20 in their Twenties honoree). They knew that Indiana ranks 39th nationally for heart-disease-related conditions, and that the situation is even more dire for Black Hoosiers, who face a 23% higher risk of complications from heart disease and are more likely to die from the condition than their white neighbors.
“We started to think about what areas we were going to prioritize in terms of opportunities to really advance the health of communities and to address health disparities,” Tucker Edmonds said. “Cardiovascular health is clearly one of the major leading drivers of death for all patient populations—and disproportionately so for minorities and marginalized communities.”
The two pulled together a partnership of Indiana University Health, the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, the Polis Center at Indiana University Indianapolis, the Fairbanks School of Public Health, and Novartis, the pharmaceuticals corporation.
Together, they came up with the idea of Barbershop 2.0—turning barbershops into venues for health education and screenings in a setting where men, especially those who might not seek care otherwise, feel comfortable. Patrons diagnosed with elevated blood pressure can follow up with a provider close to home or schedule appointments at no charge through Check-It, a virtual care management team that includes pharmacists, nurses, advance practice providers and community health workers.
The program, which started at All in the Wrists Barbershop on West 22nd Street, has expanded to three barbershops and provided more than 1,000 blood pressure screenings. Nearly 50% of those who screened positive for high blood pressure hadn’t known they had hypertension. In addition, more than 350 patrons have received assistance from community health care workers in areas related to transportation, child care, food and housing.
IHEART brought its program to other surprising locations, including Bible study groups, food pantries and neighborhood centers, where it has now performed roughly 4,000 blood pressure readings and 4,000 screenings for other areas that impact people’s health, participated in more than 300 community events, and forged 178 active community partnerships.
So far, the data indicates that through this intervention, a lower hypertension disparity rate (7.27%) has been achieved between white and Black IU Health patients than in the broader IU Health system (11.7%).
Tucker Edmonds said the collaborative agreement called for looking at the total impact of the program over three years—meaning the end of this year—to gauge results.
“Our hope is that we will be able to continue to grow and support these efforts well beyond that,” she said.•
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