Mayor Joseph P. Ganim
Bridgeport, CT
For Immediate Release:
January 10, 2020
For more information:
Rowena White (203) 576-7201
-Press Release-
Mayor Ganim, Bridgeport Health Department Launch Blood Pressure Tracking Project
BPT HEaRT to Offer Free Screenings at Local Businesses
Bridgeport, CT – Today, Mayor Ganim and the Health Department announced the launch of BPT HEaRT; a Blood Pressure Tracking health initiative to screen individuals for hypertension.
The Bridgeport Department of Health and Social Services will partner with local businesses citywide to facilitate blood pressure screenings at their establishments. The Department will be seeking partnerships with businesses such as local barbershops, hair salons, and nail salons.
The project is funded by the Connecticut Department of Public Health to support heart disease and stroke prevention. It incorporates the concepts of remote monitoring, online tracking, and the use of Community Health Workers to encourage participants to commit to monitoring their blood pressure at least twice a month for four months.
Director Bond stated, “The BPT HEaRT Project is an initiative that supports our strategic priorities to promote and protect the health of residents. Our most recent data shows the prevalence of hypertension in our community. This project will help to prevent heart disease in our residents.”
Based on data from the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment, at least 33 percent of residents in the Greater Bridgeport Region have been diagnosed with hypertension. Among Latino and Black communities in Bridgeport, the rates are even higher. These two priority populations comprise close to 80 percent of the Bridgeport population.
Bridgeport businesses are encouraged to sign up to become a BPTHEaRT monitoring location. For more information, email Angelica.Ojeda@bridgeportct.gov, call (203) 520-9979, or visit bridgeportct.gov/BPTHEaRT.
###
Comments