Cameron Duff, director of the Sheridan County Public Library System, and Dian
True, a senior project coordinator with the Wyoming Center on Aging at the University
of Wyoming, display a blood pressure monitoring kit. The kits are now available at
libraries in Sheridan, Clearmont, Story and Tongue River. The public can check out
the kits for a period up to two weeks. (Dian True Photo)
Self-measured blood pressure monitoring kits are now available for checkout at libraries
in Sheridan, Clearmont, Story and Tongue River through a collaborative pilot project
among the Wyoming Center on Aging (WyCOA) at the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming
Department of Health’s Chronic Disease Prevention Program and the Sheridan County
Public Library System.
The kits, available in both English and Spanish, include an automated home blood pressure
cuff; blood pressure logbooks; educational materials from the American Heart Association;
information on what blood pressure is; and ideas for healthy lifestyle changes. The
kits also include a resource directory to local community-based organizations and
referral resources to the Cent$ible Nutrition Program and the Healthy U chronic disease
self-management program.
The loan period is two weeks. Blood pressure kits will be automatically renewed, up
to two times, if there are no holds on the item. This program also is currently available
to residents in Albany, Carbon, Laramie, Lincoln, Natrona, Park, Sublette, Sweetwater
and Washakie counties.
Nearly half of adults in the United States -- 47 percent, or 116 million -- have high
blood pressure, also known as hypertension, or are taking medication for hypertension,
and 24 percent with hypertension have their condition under control, according to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Wyoming, 30.7 percent of adults have been told that they have high blood pressure,
according to the Wyoming Department of Health’s Chronic Disease Prevention Program.
While self-measured blood pressure is not a substitute for regular visits to primary
care physicians, it is a way for individuals to see and track their numbers, giving
them more information that can be communicated to their doctors.
“Information is power and, the more information a patient and their doctor have, the
better the treatment plan,” says Dian True, a senior project coordinator with WyCOA.
“Better treatment plans lead to better overall health. That’s the goal of this project
-- to work to improve the health of our communities.”
The Sheridan County Public Library System is committed to building and supporting
strong, healthy communities. This project provides a unique opportunity to offer the
community more information about self-monitored blood pressure and its important role
in health.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the Wyoming Department of Health and WyCOA to bring
these much-needed resources to the community,” says Cameron Duff, director of the
Sheridan County Public Library System.
To learn more about the Sheridan County Public Library System, go to www.sheridanwyolibrary.org/.
To learn more about WyCOA and its programs, go to www.uwyo.edu/wycoa/.
