About the
Cardiometabolic
Center Alliance
About Us
Saint Luke’s Michael & Marlys Haverty Cardiometabolic Center of Excellence was launched in November 2018. The Cardiometabolic Center’s dedicated, multidisciplinary team developed a novel approach to treating those living with Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes along with related cardiovascular comorbidities, providing a comprehensive, team-based model of care specifically tailored to each patient.
To measure the effectiveness of this new model of care delivery, patient outcomes and treatment patterns were collected in a dedicated registry. Upon review of this data, it was clear that approaching care in a coordinated, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive manner resulted in substantial differences in patient outcomes.
Expanding this clinical model helps those living with or at risk for cardiometabolic conditions improve their health and prevent complications, as well as assists providers and health care organizations with managing the increasing strain of caring for this complex patient population.
The Cardiometabolic Center Alliance is a national collaborative of health care organizations committed to improving the quality of care and outcomes in those living with cardiometabolic disease. Across its aligned member sites, care is delivered via a patient-centered, team-based approach with the support of validated protocols, standard operating procedures, and ongoing program support. Members contribute to the Alliance’s Patient Registry for the purpose of rapid-cycle process improvement, as well as potential clinical research activities.
Since the formation of the Alliance, more than 18 national organizations have recognized the benefits and become members. Alliance membership continues to increase and includes large academic health systems, community-based health systems, rural-based health systems, as well as potential international members.
The overarching goals of the Alliance include:
- Improve quality of care and outcomes for individuals with cardiometabolic disease
- Create platforms for real world evidence generation and clinical trials
- Produce tangible benefits for health care organizations in a value-based model of care delivery
Andrew J. Sauer, MD
Executive Director
Andrew J. Sauer, MD, is a cardiologist, physician-scientist, and internationally recognized educator with more than a decade of leadership experience in cardiovascular medicine. He has dedicated his career to advancing cardiovascular science and ensuring equitable access to best-in-class therapies. After earning his medical degree from the University of Rochester, Dr. Sauer trained at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute of Harvard/MIT, followed by fellowships in cardiology and heart failure at Northwestern.
He established a leading heart failure and transplant program at the University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City before joining Saint Luke’s in 2021. At Saint Luke’s, under the mentorship of CMCA founder Mikhail Kosiborod, MD, Dr. Sauer has contributed to the leadership of global clinical trials and directs the regional cardiometabolic program.
A prolific author with hundreds of publications and thousands of citations, Dr. Sauer serves as associate editor of the Journal of Cardiac Failure and frequently speaks at international scientific sessions. His clinical practice focuses on patients with obesity, diabetes, heart failure, and complications of cardiometabolic disease.
Melissa Magwire, RN, MSN, CDCES
Program Director
Melissa Magwire is a Registered Nurse and Certified Diabetes Education and Care Specialist (CDCES) who has earned a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. She has more than 30 years of experience in the cardiovascular and diabetes care space. She provides direct patient care to those living with diabetes, focusing on cardiovascular risk reduction and is the Program Director for the Cardiometabolic Center Alliance, a national consortium of Cardiometabolic Centers of Excellence. She is a contributing author on the 2018 and 2020 ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway for CV Reduction in Patients with T2DM and ASCVD. She has authored over 20 peer reviewed publications, served on the Editorial Board of Clinical Diabetes, and is currently serving as a member of the ADCES Clinical Practice Committee, the AHA Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic health Diabetes Science Committee, as well as several national key opinion leader advisory boards.
Daniel Aistrope, PharmD, BCACP
Program Consultant
Angie Skinner
Program Consultant
Andrea Stafos, DNP, ANP-BC, BC-ADM
Program Consultant
Kyle Hamersley, RN, BSN
Program Consultant
Power in Numbers: Join Us
The Cardiometabolic Center Alliance is seeking to collaborate with health care organizations, academic and professional societies, and other key partners nationally and internationally in order to continue implementing this clinical model of care ensuring more patients receive comprehensive, coordinated cardiometabolic care and risk reduction.
Working collaboratively, we will lead an international initiative to significantly impact the toll of diabetes and related comorbidities. Together, we will help patients with cardiometabolic disease manage their risk factors so they can live healthier, more active lives, and help ease the burden on health care organizations caring for this complex patient population.
The Cardiometabolic Center Alliance provides its members with the training, protocols, and materials needed to establish their own cardiometabolic centers of excellence. The Alliance is committed to improving patient outcomes through improving processes and care delivery, measuring results, and expanding research opportunities on an international scale.