Pictured, from left, Gail Gillard, director of the Big Horn County Library System;
Linda Mangus, Lovell Library assistant manager; and Cathy Collins, Lovell Library
manager, display blood pressure kits at the Lovell Library. The kits are now available
in Lovell as well as at the Deaver and Frannie branch libraries. The kits will be
available at the Basin and Greybull branch libraries in June. The public can check
out the kits for up to three weeks. (Dian True Photo)
Self-measured blood pressure monitoring kits are now available for checkout at libraries
in Lovell, Deaver and Frannie, and they will come to the Basin and Greybull libraries
in June. The kits are offered through a collaborative pilot project involving the
Wyoming Center on Aging (WyCOA) at the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming Department
of Health’s Chronic Disease Prevention Program and the Big Horn County 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 Healthy U chronic disease self-management program and Cent$ible
Nutrition Program.
The loan period is three weeks. Blood pressure kits can be renewed, up to two times,
if there are no holds on the item. Failure to return a blood pressure cuff kit will
result in a blocked account until the item is returned. This program also is currently
available to residents in Albany, Campbell, Carbon, Crook, Laramie, Lincoln, Natrona,
Park, Sheridan, Sublette, Sweetwater, Washakie and Weston counties, with plans to
be in all 23 counties by the end of June.
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 Big Horn County 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 excited to partner with the Wyoming Department of Health and WyCOA to bring
these much-needed resources to the community,” says Gail Gillard, director of the
Big Horn County Library System.
To learn more about the Big Horn County Library System, go to www.bhcwylibrarysystem.org.
To learn more about WyCOA and its programs, go to www.uwyo.edu/wycoa/.
