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For the past two years, Providence Southern California has partnered with Live Chair Health, a national organization focused on creating equitable access to health care through a coordinated network of clinical and non-clinical resources. The focus of this partnership is reducing hypertension, or high blood pressure, within Black communities in South Los Angeles, with plans to expand into Orange County.
High blood pressure causes the heart to pump harder and faster, which can lead to serious health problems such as heart attacks or strokes. Hypertension can be managed through regular screenings, adjustments to diet and exercise, or medication, but knowing one’s blood pressure and why it matters to overall health is a crucial first step.
As our community’s health partner, the Providence family of organizations is taking important steps to address and reduce health disparities among diverse communities. Our commitment includes building trusted partnerships with community organizations to better understand and dismantle structural, racial and cultural barriers to health, and to meet people where they are in their communities.
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Through community engagement events such as workshops and fairs, Live Chair Health and Providence provided hypertension education, screenings and other resources to more than 3,000 community members in South Los Angeles neighborhoods in 2022.
By tracking measurements, Live Chair Health reported that 60 percent of people who engaged in the program saw a reduction in hypertension within three months. In partnership with the American Heart Association (AHA), four kiosks with blood pressure cuffs and information about hypertension, will be installed in the coming months at four locations across Southern California.
One event in particular, the inaugural Patient Appreciation Day community event, focused on hypertension awareness, education and screening with a team of providers. A dietician and pharmacist provided in-person health lessons, and other providers connected patients to clinical programs, scheduled primary care appointments and recommended other disease management programs to patients who otherwise were not accessing health care. This event drew approximately 50 participants and included eight health care providers.
Building on the positive impact of this partnership in South Los Angeles, Providence will expand its hypertension community outreach in June to connect with Latinx communities in Orange County. Live Chair Health will participate in a community event to help engage patients and community members in trusted and safe spaces. Live Chair Health Community Health Workers will offer health lessons and support circles to high-risk patients and community, in partnership with AHA.
Live Chair Health’s model brings health resources directly to patients in spaces where they spend time and feel most comfortable, such as barber shops, salons, churches and community centers.
During the partnership’s inaugural year in 2021, the focus was primarily on connecting with patients through barber shops to offer blood pressure education and training. In 2022 Providence and Live Chair Health expanded community outreach efforts with the goal of reaching even more people in additional spaces.
“We are incredibly proud of our partnership with Providence and the positive impacts we have made in communities of color across South Los Angeles,” says Alida Quinonez, Field Operations Manager for Live Chair Health. “Hypertension education and screening are lifesaving tools and serve as a catalyst for change among our communities every day. The significant hypertension reduction and increased health literacy among our patients shows these outreach efforts are making a difference,” says Quinonez.
Throughout last year, Providence supported Live Chair Health in building new relationships with more than 60 community hubs across South Los Angeles, including shelters for those who are homeless. As part of this effort, Providence hosted lessons on proper use of at-home blood pressure cuffs and strategies for measuring and monitoring blood pressure at home.
The support for Live Chair Health is provided through Providence’s health equity grant, which is a five-year, $50 million commitment launched in 2020 to address health inequities and reduce disparities in the communities Providence serves across seven Western states.
“Providence’s commitment to health equity is driven by the belief that everyone deserves a chance to live their healthiest life, and this partnership with Live Chair Health is that commitment in action,” says Kenya Beckman, chief philanthropy and health equity officer for Providence South. “We are making a tangible difference to people in South Los Angeles by following the lead of a local organization that knows the community and understands how to address pressing needs,” adds Kenya.
To learn more about how Providence’s family of organizations invests in the communities they serve, visit www.providence.org/about/annual-report.
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Alida Quinonez,
Field Operations Manager for Live Chair Health
“We are incredibly proud of our partnership with Providence and the positive impacts we have made in communities of color across South
Los Angeles”
Meeting people
where they are
Partnering with Black communities to reduce hypertension
