Join our conversation
In person
If you are unable to join with the below options, there will be a physical space reserved in the Foundation for Health Care Quality’s Seattle office to participate in the virtual meeting at the below address:
Industrious 400U @ Rainier Square
400 University Street
Floor 3
Seattle, WA 98101
Online
Background
High blood pressure or hypertension (HTN), which can lead to heart disease and/or stroke, impacts about half of American adults.(1) However, only 16.1% of those adults have their high blood pressure under control through medication and lifestyle changes, with disparities based on race, ethnicity, education, income, living in an urban or rural setting, and other social drivers of health.(2,3,4) Blood pressure control rates are lower for non-Hispanic (NH) Black persons, Asian American persons, and Hispanic person when compared to NH White persons, and NH Black and Hispanic individuals.(5) Native communities in Washington state also experience significant disparities in hypertension and cardiovascular health.(6) Social drivers of health significantly influence disparities in blood pressure control; for example, food insecurity has been associated with 14-77% increase in hypertension risk.(7) Healthcare access including insurance coverage influences attendance at appointments and acquiring and taking medication. Washingtonians do not receive the same standard of care across the state (e.g., multiple medications, accurate dose titration) with variation in therapy selection and care delivery models.(8,9,10,11) Improving blood pressure control quality metrics stratified by social drivers of health has promise to reduce inequities in morbidity and mortality related to hypertension.
| Next Meeting | Time | Materials |
| Mar 13th, 2025 | 3-4:30pm | Please see below |
Meeting Materials
| Date | Materials |
| January 16th, 2025 | |
| February 13th | February Agenda January Minutes Workplan/Evidence Table |
| March 13th | March Agenda February Minutes Materials/Workplan |
| April 10th | April Agenda March Minutes Materials/Evidence Table |
| May 8th | May Agenda April Minutes Materials/Evidence Table |
| June 12th | June Agenda May Minutes Evidence Table Materials |
| July 10th | July Agenda June Minutes Materials/Evidence Table |
| August 14th | August Agenda July Minutes Materials/Evidence Table |
| September 11th | September Agenda August Minutes Materials |
| October 9th | October Agenda September Minutes Materials |
| November 13th | November Agenda October Minutes Draft Report & Guidelines |
Read ourer
Workgroup Members
| Name | Title | Organization |
| Norris Kamo, MD (Chair) | Section Head, Adult Family Medicine | Virginia Mason University Village Clinic |
| Jake Berman, MD (vice-chair) | Director of Population Health Integration | University of Washington Medicine |
| Mia Wise, MD | Chief Medical Officer | Kinwell Health |
| Albert Tsai, MD | Vice President, Community Impact, Puget Sound | American Heart Association |
| Elhami Hannan, MD | Nephrologist | Kadlec Medical Center |
| Nicholas Koenig, MD | Cardiovascular Quality Improvement Program Medical Director | Kaiser Permanente |
| Elizabeth C Slye, RN | Registered Nurse | Kaiser Permanente |
| Kimberly Parrish, MHA, RN | Director, Clinical Excellnence – Hospital Access | WSHA |
| Josephine Young, MD | Medical Director, Commercial Markets | Premera Blue Cross |
| Laura Hanson, PharmD | Ambulatory Pharmacy Manager | Virginia Mason |
| Nicole Treanor, , MS, RD, CDCES | Registered Dietician | Virginia Mason |
| Jordan Despain, MD | Family Medicine Physician | Confluence |
| Kristina Petsas, MD | Market Chief Medical Officer, PNW, AK and HI | United Healthcare |
| Theresa Kreiser, MS | Senior Improvement Advisor | Comagine Health |
| Katrina Gangsaas | Community Health Supervisor | YMCA |
| Mary Beth McAteer, MLIS | Librarian | Virginia Mason |
| Molly Parker, MD, MPH | Chief Medical Officer of Population Health | Jefferson Healthcare |
| Jessica Beach, MPH, MPA | Health Equity Director | Molina |
| Leo Morales, MD | Assistant Dean for Healthcare Equity and Quality | Co-director Latino Center for Health | UW Medicine |
| Eugene Yang, MD | Clinical Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology | UW Medicine |
| Chris Longnecker, PhD | Associate Professor, Global Health | Director, Global Cardiovascular Health Program | UW Medicine |
| Dionna Washington | Peer Navigator | Harborview Adult Medicine Clinic |
| Jonathan Liu, MD | Principal, Health Strategy | Amazon (Global Benefits) |
| Jason Tzau, PharmD | Sr Mgr, US Health Plans | Amazon (Global Benefits) |
(1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, January 3). High blood pressure facts. https://www.cdc.gov/high-blood-pressure/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
(2) https://odphp.health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/heart-disease-and-stroke/increase-control-high-blood-pressure-adults-hds-05/data?group=Obesity%20status%20(20%20years%20and%20over)&from=2017&to=2020&state=United%20States&populations=#edit-submit
(3) Vogel MT, Petrescu-Prahova M, Steinman L, et al. Partnerships for Blood Pressure Control in Washington State, December 2016-July 2017. Health Promot Pract. 2021;22(1):52-62. doi:10.1177/1524839919853819
(4) Fryar CD, Ostchega Y, Hales CM, Zhang G, Kruszon-Moran D. Hypertension Prevalence and Control Among Adults: United States, 2015-2016. NCHS Data Brief. 2017;(289):1-8.
(5) Abrahamowicz, A. A., Ebinger, J., & Whelton, S. P. (2023). Racial and ethnic disparities in hypertension: Barriers and opportunities to improve blood pressure control. Current Cardiology Reports, 25(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-022-01826-x
(6) Parker T, Kelley A, Cooeyate N, Tsosie N. Tribal Perspectives on Hypertension: Results From the Center for Native American Health Native-CHART Needs Assessment. J Prim Care Community Health. 2022 Jan-Dec;13:21501319221144269. doi: 10.1177/21501319221144269. PMID: 36524696; PMCID: PMC9761798.
(7) Te Vazquez J, Feng SN, Orr CJ, Berkowitz SA. Food insecurity and cardiometabolic conditions: a review of recent research. Curr Nutr Rep. 2021;10(4):243–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-021-00364-2.
(8) Brownstein JN, Chowdhury FM, Norris SL, et al. Effectiveness of Community Health Workers in the Care of People with Hypertension. Am J Prev Med. 2007;32(5):435-447. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2007.01.011
(9) Vogel MT, Petrescu-Prahova M, Steinman L, et al. Partnerships for Blood Pressure Control in Washington State, December 2016-July 2017. Health Promot Pract. 2021;22(1):52-62. doi:10.1177/1524839919853819
(10) Ostchega Y, Fryar CD, Nwankwo T, Nguyen DT. Hypertension Prevalence Among Adults Aged 18 and Over: United States, 2017-2018. NCHS Data Brief. 2020;(364):1-8.
(11) Schoenthaler, EdD A, Lancaster, PhD K, Midberry, Mph S, et al. The FAITH Trial: Baseline Characteristics of a Church-based Trial to Improve Blood Pressure Control in Blacks. Ethn Dis. 2015;25(3):337. doi:10.18865/ed.25.3.337