(Memphis) Wednesday, Medtronic Philanthropy announced $500,000 in grants to help the uninsured and underserved residents of Memphis and Shelby County.
The grants will help Christ Community Health Services, Healthy Shelby and the Church Health Center to continue to address chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
Christ Community Health Services plans to use the money to expand an innovative door to door hypertension intervention program in Orange Mound in the spring.
The program uses lay community health care workers to go into homes, do blood pressure screenings and distribute medications if necessary.
Those at risk also get some important information about how they can improve their health.
“If we can identify areas in the community and lower the average blood pressure then we could affect lives and improve the overall health of the community,” said Dr. Zech Smith with Christ Community Health Services.
Healthy Shelby also plans to use its share of the grant money to address hypertension.
It plans to a develop a community hypertension collaborative aimed at improving the quality of care to adults with hypertension in Shelby County.
The Church Health Center plans to expand its Wellness 4 Life program.
The program refers patients to the Center’s health coaches who set goals for making lifestyle changes and adopting healthier behaviors.