PCNA Chapters Hold Blood Pressure Screenings
PCNA Chapters have been hard at work recently, providing blood pressure screenings to individuals in their communities.
Central Virginia Chapter
The Central Virginia Chapter participated in the 4th annual Community Outreach Health Fair in Nelson County, Virginia on June 8, 2019. A total of 4 chapter members volunteered at the event and screened a total of 31 people with the majority of blood pressures ranging <120/<80 (19 people). The volunteers provided educational material for hypertension as some people did fall into the pre-hypertension stage according to the new hypertension guidelines. Many that were screened already had a diagnosis of hypertension or a new diagnosis. It was an eventful and busy day!
Houston Chapter
The Houston Chapter hosted a booth at Family Fun Day at the Beverly Hills Park and Community Center on August 24, 2019 from 10am-2pm. They provided education on hypertension and lifestyle management, provided patient education materials, and conducted blood pressure checks. The chapter volunteers did about 30 blood pressure checks.
Northeast Ohio
The Northeast Ohio Chapter has been consistently holding community events for years. The chapter leader, Marsha Wineland, had this to say about their work:
Community events are a great way to touch base with patients. They are hungry for information and are very receptive to learning key facts about what affects their cardiovascular health. We became involved when an American Heart Association (AHA) board member in our area asked us to participate in the Heart Walk in our local community. We started taking blood pressures there and also handed out tools from PCNA about hypertension, cholesterol, atrial fibrillation, and many more. We had great feedback from the public, and have been doing this for the last 8 years as well as fundraising for the AHA during the Heart Walk.
Chapter leaders are aware of health events in the local community through their associations with the colleges of nursing in the area. We have participated in the university job fairs and their university-sponsored walks in order to network with the nursing students. Another chapter leader has ties with the local Lions Club so we have helped with those functions as well, taking blood pressures at local fairs and handing out patient materials
We have also invited the public to the last part of our local seminars to lecture on subjects like hypertension and angina and answer questions from the audience.
We believe partnering with the public has become the key strategy for successful healthcare. They want to be an active participant in their healthcare and must be the driving force affecting change.
We feel that PCNA has given us many tools to provide our patients with better care and education to guide them towards better health choices.