Community Corner

Let the Eastern Highlands Health District Help You Control Your Blood Pressure

Learn to take control of your blood pressure, partly through self-monitoring — the Eastern Highlands Health District will help you learn how.

A news release from the Eastern Highlands Health District:

Eastern Highlands Health District (EHHD) and Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN) have recently formed a partnership to introduce a self-blood pressure monitoring program to hypertensive patients who reside in Tolland County.

The new Hypertension Control Program combines home blood pressure monitoring with conventional and functional medicine approaches. ECHN nurses who have been specially trained will act as intermediaries between clinicians and patients, providing real-time disease management, medication adjustment, and care coordination.

In addition, approximately 50 patients with a history of uncontrolled hypertension will be selected and trained on how to use home blood pressure monitoring equipment and record results.  Self-management practices will emphasize patient empowerment, goal setting, and problem-solving skills.

Funding for this initiative comes from the Community Transformation Grant (CTG). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded 61 Community Transformation Grants in 2011 to counties and states across the nation to reduce the burden of chronic disease and eliminate health disparities through policy, systems, and environmental changes to increase opportunities for healthy living. 

The State of Connecticut Department of Public health was awarded one of these grants to work with five counties (Litchfield, Tolland, Middlesex, Windham, and New London).

As part of the CTG work, the Tolland County Community Health Action Response Team (CHART) was developed. CHART is a community-based coalition composed of individuals and agencies that has diligently worked to develop a comprehensive plan to address health inequities, to eliminate health disparities and to improve the health of county residents. 

The self-blood pressure monitoring program was identified by the coalition as one of the priorities to ensure quality preventive and other clinical services for Tolland County’s most vulnerable residents. The coalition continues its work in other areas such as tobacco free living and healthy eating and active living.

The Tolland County Hypertension Control Program is a partnership among ECHN, Visiting Nurse & Health Services of Connecticut, Inc., and Eastern Highlands Health District, North Central District Health Department, Chatham Health District, Community Health Center, Inc. of Middletown, M3 Consulting, and BOSCH (through donations of blood pressure cuffs).

For more information, contact Rita Kornblum, Community Health and Wellness Coordinator at 860-429-3325.


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