Abstract
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in the United States.1-4 Today, a gap exists with cardiovascular inequities in underserved communities relating to access to cardiac care.1-4
In 2022, an experienced cardiologist and nurse practitioner leader established a once-a-month free faith-based cardiology clinic in Nashville and surrounding counties in Tennessee. The goal is to improve access to cardiac care1-3 and contribute to quality health outcomes for the underserved.
Structure: A 501(c)(3) non-profit clinic structure was the framework for implementing the faith-based medical cardiology clinic.5 The faith-based cardiology clinic occurs one Saturday each month with voluntary staff. The start-up cost for the cardiology clinic was $19,995 for printers, computers, servers, an ultrasound laptop for echocardiograms, and an EKG machine.
Process: The Greek Orthodox Church hosts the clinic using classrooms and a waiting area in the education building. After the patient arrives, they are registered. Nurses will take vital signs. A cardiologist and nurse practitioner complete a patient evaluation with a history and physical. Additional tests, like an EKG or echocardiogram, may be performed during the visit. Follow-up appointments will be scheduled if necessary. Patients are referred by their primary care provider, usually a municipal county healthcare center. All laboratory tests are done at the local health center for free.
Outcomes: In 22 months, we have evaluated 109 patients. Diagnostic categories include:
- Hypertension & hypertensive cardiomyopathy (28)
- Arrhythmia (11)
- Coronary artery disease (14)
- Cardiomyopathy (5)
- Valvular heart disease (17)
- Congestive heart failure (4)
- Normal heart and patient reassured (29)
Patient Satisfaction Survey Results:
Everything was great and everyone was kind and professional. Thank you.
Very friendly and professional, excellent attention (Spanish translated)
Staff and DR are very friendly and caring. A huge blessing
Gracias
We now have a functioning faith-based cardiology clinic and provide cardiac care to uninsured patients who may otherwise not have access. The faith-based clinic model is proven to be feasible and effective. A challenge for this patient population is transportation and prioritizing work with medical care appointments. The operational strategy is a practical care model that can be replicated and applied to other clinical sub-specialties to address health inequities within a community and across the globe.
Notes
References:
1. Kim, J. H., Cisneros, T., Nguyen, A., van Meijgaard, J., & Warraich, H. J. (2024). Geographic Disparities in Access to Cardiologists in the United States. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 84(3), 315-316.
2. Padda, I., Fabian, D., Farid, M., Mahtani, A., Sethi, Y., Ralhan, T., ... & Johal, G. (2024). Social Determinants of Health and its Impacts on Cardiovascular Disease in Underserved Populations: A Critical Review. Current Problems in Cardiology, 102373. Retrieved doi https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpcardiol.2024.102373
3. Powell-Wiley, T. M., Baumer, Y., Baah, F. O., Baez, A. S., Farmer, N., Mahlobo, C. T., ... & Wallen, G. R. (2022). Social determinants of cardiovascular disease. Circulation Research, 130(5), 782-799.
4. Wakefield, M. K. (2022). Recalibrating nursing's efforts to achieve health equity. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 54(3), 275-277.
5. Lubell, J. (2024, August 30) A tale of rheumatologist volunteers overseas and in the United States. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/tale-rheumatologist-volunteers-overseas-and-united-states-2024a1000ftq
Sigma Membership
Alpha, Nu Phi
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Parish-based Care, Public and Community Health, Clinical Practice, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiac Care, Health Clinics
Recommended Citation
Borum, Cynthia A. and Haitas, Byron, "A Real Medical Mission Clinic to Manage Cardiovascular Health Inequities and Improve Outcomes" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 37.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/posters_2025/37
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-21
A Real Medical Mission Clinic to Manage Cardiovascular Health Inequities and Improve Outcomes
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in the United States.1-4 Today, a gap exists with cardiovascular inequities in underserved communities relating to access to cardiac care.1-4
In 2022, an experienced cardiologist and nurse practitioner leader established a once-a-month free faith-based cardiology clinic in Nashville and surrounding counties in Tennessee. The goal is to improve access to cardiac care1-3 and contribute to quality health outcomes for the underserved.
Structure: A 501(c)(3) non-profit clinic structure was the framework for implementing the faith-based medical cardiology clinic.5 The faith-based cardiology clinic occurs one Saturday each month with voluntary staff. The start-up cost for the cardiology clinic was $19,995 for printers, computers, servers, an ultrasound laptop for echocardiograms, and an EKG machine.
Process: The Greek Orthodox Church hosts the clinic using classrooms and a waiting area in the education building. After the patient arrives, they are registered. Nurses will take vital signs. A cardiologist and nurse practitioner complete a patient evaluation with a history and physical. Additional tests, like an EKG or echocardiogram, may be performed during the visit. Follow-up appointments will be scheduled if necessary. Patients are referred by their primary care provider, usually a municipal county healthcare center. All laboratory tests are done at the local health center for free.
Outcomes: In 22 months, we have evaluated 109 patients. Diagnostic categories include:
- Hypertension & hypertensive cardiomyopathy (28)
- Arrhythmia (11)
- Coronary artery disease (14)
- Cardiomyopathy (5)
- Valvular heart disease (17)
- Congestive heart failure (4)
- Normal heart and patient reassured (29)
Patient Satisfaction Survey Results:
Everything was great and everyone was kind and professional. Thank you.
Very friendly and professional, excellent attention (Spanish translated)
Staff and DR are very friendly and caring. A huge blessing
Gracias
We now have a functioning faith-based cardiology clinic and provide cardiac care to uninsured patients who may otherwise not have access. The faith-based clinic model is proven to be feasible and effective. A challenge for this patient population is transportation and prioritizing work with medical care appointments. The operational strategy is a practical care model that can be replicated and applied to other clinical sub-specialties to address health inequities within a community and across the globe.
Description
An experienced cardiologist and nurse practitioner leader established a once-a-month faith-based clinic to address health inequities for uninsured adult patients with cardiac disease. The goal is access to cardiac care for the underserved. In 22 months, the faith-based cardiology clinic treated 109 patients and the model is proven feasible and effective. This strategy is a practical care model that can be replicated in other clinical specialties across the globe to address health inequities.