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Published on September 17, 2025

Cone Health Earns National Health Care Equity Award

The award is for its work in lowering high-blood pressure among Black patients.

Greensboro – Cone Health has been recognized with the 2025 Bernard J. Tyson Award for Pursuit of Healthcare Equity by Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente. The award recognizes health care organizations that led initiatives to achieve a measurable, sustained reduction in one or more health care disparities. Bernard J. Tyson Award - Pursuit of Healthcare Equity Logo

The 2025 Tyson Award recognizes Cone Health for its program that increased the number of Black patients able to keep their blood pressure under control to essentially the same level as white patients. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and strokes. The American Heart Association finds that Black adults are 6 to 16 percentage points less likely than white adults to have their blood pressure under control. Incidentally, blood pressure control significantly improved among all patients in this effort.

“We are honored to be recognized by Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente for this work,” says Cone Health interim CEO Bernie Sherry. “Cone Health’s Chief Health Equity & Community Impact Officer Dr. Olu Jegede and his team showed that when you improve care for people you have not been reaching, you often elevate care for everyone by improving the overall system.”

Cone Health’s efforts yielded remarkable success among the initial study population. Between October 2023 and August 2024:

  • Among all patients, blood pressure control improved by nearly 2 percentage points from 69.8% to 71.7%.
  • Among Black patients, blood pressure control improved by 5.6 percentage points from 64.9% to 70.5.

Notably, after assigning community pharmacists to a small group of more than 130 patients from the total participant population, there were massive improvements in blood pressure control. These patients had very low control rates at the beginning, but after pharmacists took part in virtual visits, they saw the following results between November 2023 and April 2024:

  • Among all patients in the group, blood pressure control improved from 7.2% to 64.5%.
  • Among Black patients in the group, blood pressure control improved from 5.2% to 63.5%.

“Cone Health’s commitment to advancing excellent health outcomes for all is a standout example for others to learn from,” said Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, Joint Commission. “By addressing the root causes of hypertension and removing barriers to care, they have demonstrated that transformative change is possible when we focus on the needs of every patient.”

“We’re proud to recognize Cone Health for their remarkable efforts to eliminate health disparities and improve the health of their patients through blood pressure control, especially among those who are at greatest risk,” says Dr. Andrew Bindman, executive vice president and chief medical officer, Kaiser Permanente. “Their initiative illustrates the importance of addressing factors outside the clinic walls that contribute to improving health outcomes.”

Tyson, the late chairman and chief executive officer of Kaiser Permanente, worked tirelessly to address the health care disparities that plague the U.S. health system. The Bernard J. Tyson Award for Pursuit of Healthcare Equity honors his memory by recognizing extraordinary efforts made by health care organizations, with the goal of inspiring others to take action to eliminate health care disparities.

To learn more, visit the award webpage.

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