The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced that it will donate $3.5 million to 10 New Jersey hospitals as part of an effort to address cardiovascular health among racial and ethnic minorities, the Trenton Times reports.

Racial and ethnic disparities in cardiac care have led to a higher rate of hospital readmissions, a higher number of acute episodes and higher mortality rates among blacks and Hispanics, Gretchen Hartley, co-director of RWJF's New Jersey Health Initiatives, said.

Under the two-year, quality-improvement program, called "Expecting Success in Cardiac Care," the foundation will give $180,000 to each hospital to review, improve and share existing health practices related to cardiac care. Hospitals likely will examine new intake and discharge methods and the dissemination of patient information to referring physicians, according to the Times.

Hartley said, "We were looking for hospitals that will have a high volume of Latino and African-American patients," adding, "Many of the hospitals selected are high-performing, large programs with good outcome results in their programs, but they are saying, 'We can do more, and we want to learn from our peers'" (Egan, Trenton Times, 6/2).

The remaining $1.7 million will go toward providing technical assistance and employing experts who will work directly with the hospitals during the project. The participating hospitals are located in urban areas that have high numbers of black and Hispanic residents with cardiovascular disease, according to Hartley (Benson, Press of Atlantic City, 6/2).

Hartley said, "There still seems to be a higher incidence of heart failure and complications" among black and Hispanic residents, even when factors such as income and health insurance status are equal (Trenton Times, 6/2). Hartley added, "This new learning network holds the potential to significantly improve cardiac care for minority patients in New Jersey" (Press of Atlantic City, 6/2).