Blood pressure kiosks gifted to 10 faith communities in Hampton Roads

East End Baptist Church in Suffolk was the first of ten faith communities in the Western Tidewater region of Virginia to receive a blood pressure kiosk from the American Heart Association Hampton Roads. It is plainly visible in the vestibule of the busy church’s administrative offices, just off the main lobby on Portsmouth Boulevard, and accessible to anyone visiting the church.

“Our congregation is focused on good health,” said Hattie Boone, a leader in the church’s health ministry and a retired nursing director from Sentara Obici Hospital in Suffolk. “If people have a health issue, we always ask, ‘How can we help you?’”

The AHA Hampton Roads purchased and installed the kiosks using grant funds from the Suffolk-based Obici Healthcare Foundation to encourage congregants to more actively monitor their blood pressure and take charge of their cardiovascular health.

The Faith Community Blood Pressure Management Program is focused initially on Suffolk and Western Tidewater because hypertension is more prevalent there than other areas of Hampton Roads.

As part of the initiative, Sentara’s Health Impact & Engagement team and Sentara Medical Group’s Medical Education team developed a curriculum tailored for faith communities. Sentara staff offer the congregations monthly on-site education sessions about hypertension and general health literacy, and they test people’s home monitoring devices to ensure they are accurate. The initiative aligns with Sentara’s three-year goal to address health disparities in communities with higher rates of hypertension.

“This initiative exemplifies Sentara’s approach to bridging clinical care with community health education,“ said Vanessa Hill, manager of Health Impact & Engagement for Sentara Health. “By combining the Heart Association‘s kiosks and our education efforts, we are laying the groundwork for a new model that can grow and advance Sentara’s health equity goals.”

The program aims to empower congregations to manage blood pressure and deliver health literacy in trusted faith settings.

“This initiative is a necessary step in a continuous effort to address disparities in hypertension rates in Western Tidewater when compared to other communities,” said Briana Ricks, Community Impact Director, American Heart Association. “Improving blood pressure control, a priority of the American Heart Association Hampton Roads, is the key to achieving better health outcomes and lowering cardiovascular disease and stroke risk for members of this community.”

At East End Baptist, Tim Wright, a retired Army nurse and member of the church’s safety team, likes the kiosk because it prints out a ticket with the user’s blood pressure result.

“It’s good to have that to show your doctor or keep for your records,” he said after demonstrating the machine. “I’m hoping more people come in and use it.”

Kiosks have been installed at the following churches:

1. Rising St James Pentecostal Holiness Church - Suffolk
2. Temple Beth El - Suffolk
3. East End Baptist Church - Suffolk
4. Mineral Springs Baptist Church - Suffolk
5. New Life Church Global - Franklin
6. New Bethany UCC - Smithfield
7. New Mt. Joy Food for Living Ministries (COGIC) - Suffolk
8. Tabernacle Baptist Outreach Center (TBOC) - Suffolk
9. Union Baptist Missionary Church - Suffolk
10. New Gospel Temple – Suffolk 

 

“We are thankful to the American Heart Association and Sentara for helping us, as pastors and members, to live toward a healthy lifestyle by having a kiosk installed in our churches,” said Douglas Jones, pastor of New Bethany United Church of Christ.

According to the American Heart Association, people in rural communities are 40% more likely to develop heart disease. Addressing barriers to care is key to addressing disparities and improving health outcomes for these communities.

High blood pressure affects nearly half (46.7%) of all adults in the U.S. and is the leading cause of death around the world. The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology define hypertension this way:

• Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mm Hg
• Elevated blood pressure is 120-129 mm Hg and <80 mm Hg
• Stage 1 hypertension is 130-139 mm Hg or 80-89 mm Hg
• Stage 2 hypertension is ≥140 mm Hg or ≥90 mm Hg 

 

To control hypertension, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology advise lifestyle modification and medications as appropriate, as well as close blood pressure management before, during, and after pregnancy. The guidelines for management reinforce the importance of a healthy lifestyle, including a nutritious diet, physical activity, adequate sleep, and a healthy weight.

The American Heart Association also developed the PREVENT™ risk calculator for healthcare providers to estimate patients’ cardiovascular disease risk.