Saint Luke's News: Dr. Kim Smolderen of Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute Elected Fellow of the American Heart Association

Dr. Kim Smolderen, cardiologist and outcomes research scientist at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, has been elected as a Fellow of the American Heart Association (AHA) by the Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD). Fellowship recognizes and awards heart health professionals for excellence, innovative and sustained contributions within the AHA. She will be inaugurated into the Fellowship during the AHA’s annual Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia November 16-18.

Dr. Smolderen began her career in social work and then became a medical psychologist working with patients dealing with chronic diseases. As a researcher thereafter, she focused on how life and societal factors shape individual experiences as people deal with chronic disease. Her focus expanded to understanding quality of care and life outcomes of patients with peripheral artery disease when she went through post-doctoral training in cardiovascular outcomes research by the AHA, which she says allowed her to better understand the disease from the patient’s perspective.

In addition to the Fellowship, Dr. Smolderen was also recently awarded a $300,000 grant from the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards program for a two-year program that encourages at-risk members of the Kansas City community to take charge of their vascular health, a project she will lead. The program kicks off December 5 at 5:00 p.m. with a community town hall meeting at the Mattie Rhodes Center Northeast Office in Kansas City.

According to Jean Slutsky, PCORI’s Chief Engagement and Dissemination Officer, “This project was selected for Engagement Award funding because it will involve stakeholders in actively disseminating PCORI-funded research results to those who can use this information to inform healthcare decisions. We look forward to working with Dr. Smolderen and Saint Luke’s Hospital throughout the course of this two-year project.”

Learn more about Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute – a top-ranking institute offering the most comprehensive heart and vascular care in Kansas City.