Merck Foundation grant supports heart care for formerly incarcerated Black men
A five-year, $1.75 million grant from the Merck Foundation will help a multidisciplinary team from the University of Chicago Medicine and clinicians from Lawndale Christian Health Center (LCHC) launch and evaluate a new primary care initiative focused on the cardiovascular health of formerly incarcerated Black men.
The goal is to provide integrated, comprehensive care that can meet the needs of men with a high risk of heart disease as they return home to their communities.
The program, to be based in the North Lawndale neighborhood, will increase access to high-quality, culturally-tailored medical care that lowers high blood pressure and reduces the risk for heart attacks and strokes — serious conditions that are more common in Black men and disproportionately higher in people who were formerly incarcerated.
The program will also address patients’ social needs — including food insecurity, housing and employment — by partnering with city agencies, community organizations and other local resources.
“In recent years, there’s been a growing recognition that healthcare systems have a role to play in addressing social drivers of health,” said Monica Peek, MD, MPH, a UChicago Medicine internist and Ellen H. Block Professor for Health Justice of Medicine who is co-directing the initiative.
Formerly incarcerated people can face additional stressors that can affect heart health, Peek said, such as the mental and physical effects caused by long-term confinement and barriers to stable housing and employment after their release.
“In the U.S., healthcare insurance is still primarily tied to employment, and having a history of incarceration makes it so much harder to find permanent jobs — particularly jobs with living wages and benefits so that people can afford safe places to live, have regular medical care and the time needed to engage in health-promoting behaviors such as physical activity,” Peek said.
A new model of care
Wayne Detmer, MD, LCHC’s chief clinical officer and operational lead for the initiative, said the team hopes to create an intervention that, if successful, can be scaled to help other vulnerable populations.
“We’re hoping this grant will help us implement a new model of care to address specific challenges facing people transitioning back to our neighborhood, because the current model of care isn’t working,” Detmer said.
The program aims to optimize the health outcomes of formerly incarcerated Black men by helping improve their blood pressure and diabetes, lower their cholesterol and decrease their risk for heart attacks and strokes.
“We’re also hoping the initiative improves patient’s access to resources, self-confidence and engagement in healthcare, all things that can improve health outcomes and quality of life, especially for those who have lost trust in the healthcare system,” Detmer said.
UChicago Medicine will provide most of the personnel for the program’s evaluation, while LCHC will provide a majority of the onsite staff.
‘Perfect’ partnership
Although the partnership marks the first time the two healthcare institutions have worked together, it reflects their shared commitment to community health. Once the program is operational, the team hopes to engage approximately 250 patients per year.
“We’re relying on each other’s strengths,” Peek said. “The infrastructure that Lawndale Christian has is so perfect, and the expertise in health disparities at University of Chicago is so deep.”
LCHC operates a network that includes seven federally-qualified health centers, a pharmacy, fitness center, produce prescription program and community reintegration support.
LCHC also provides medical services to 40 homeless shelters overseen by the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, including the Shelter Placement and Resource Center (SPARC), the city’s main triage center and shelter that assists many people who were previously incarcerated and are experiencing homelessness.
Serving a neighborhood in need
The grant is one of 11 awarded as part of the Merck Foundation’s Collaborative for Equity in Cardiac Care, a $22 million initiative aimed at improving the access of people with heart conditions to patient-centered, high-quality healthcare.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S., and its impact is heavily felt in underserved communities such as North Lawndale — a once-thriving industrial area where the unemployment rate is 9.4% and nearly 1 out of 4 residents live in poverty.
“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, PhD, MPH, Merck's vice president and head of social impact and sustainability.