Initiatives

In 2018, the Florida Department of Health was awarded three 5-year cooperative agreements by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to address the prevention and management of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. In 2021, the Department was awarded a three-year cooperative agreement opportunity under the CDC, the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program to increase access to care and improved quality care for stroke patients and to decrease disparities in access and care for populations at highest risk for stroke events.

The Heart Disease and Stroke Team, within the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention, works with a variety of partners including county health departments, health systems, universities, national and statewide organizations, and community organizations to implement evidence-based strategies as outlined by the CDC. The activities implemented by the Department of Health and its partners support the overall strategies of tracking and monitoring clinical quality measures, implementing team-based care, and linking community resources and clinical services. These strategies aim to achieve outcomes related to:

1. Increasing medication adherence,
2. Increasing engagement in self-management, and
3. Increasing participation in evidence-based lifestyle interventions

among patients with high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol to increase control of high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol.

The cooperative agreements managed by the Heart Disease and Stroke Team are listed below:

 CDC 1815 - “Improving the Health of Americans through Prevention and Management of Diabetes and Heart Disease and Stroke”

 CDC 1816 - “Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women across the Nation (WISEWOMAN)”

CDC 1817 - “Innovative State and Local Public Health Strategies to Prevent and Manage Diabetes and Heart Disease and Stroke”

CDC 2102 - "Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program"