A blood pressure cuff huffs as it tightens on a CHS9 Principal Cody Koontz arm, hissing as it loosens its grip and a reading appears on the nearby blood pressure machine.
CHS9 HOSA has recently started its new blood pressure drive, which strives to raise awareness about heart health.
“February is American Heart Health month, and we’re celebrating heart health, so I wanted a way to involve [CHS9 HOSA] in the school community,” CHS9 HOSA sponsor Amber Fragosa-Deck said.
Additionally, taking blood pressure is a necessary practical skill that CHS9 HOSA members can practice via the blood pressure drive. With the experience fully immersing them in taking a patient’s blood pressure, they are also developing medical experience by practicing on others, preparing them for the future.
“We want to give students opportunities to practice their medical, public speaking and people skills,” CHS9 HOSA secretary Gia Ajani said.
The blood pressure drive, which opened on Feb. 12 and continues through March 8, allows CHS9 staff to come in and take their blood pressure during Hour Block Lunch on a stand near the front office manned by two CHS9 HOSA members.
Students measure the faculty member’s blood pressure using a blood pressure machine provided by the CHS9 health science department. If a staff member’s blood pressure is too high or too low, HOSA members will communicate this to them and advise the staff member to see a medical professional.
“We want to make sure the teachers are managing their health as well as they can,” Ajani said.
The blood pressure drive is also a part of a larger scope of CHS9 HOSA events. Members of the organization are required to earn at least 65 activity points by the end of the year, which can be achieved through active participation in events like the blood pressure drive.
Through it, students can help foster better relationships with the staff and the community as a whole, in addition to honing their medical skills.
“I like the way that students and teachers get to interact because a lot of the teachers want to help the students become better medical professionals, and it’s amazing to see,” Ajani said
However, staff participation has been lower than anticipated. Originally, CHS9 HOSA leadership expected there to be at least two faculty members per lunch block, one for each student there during that respective shift.
“Unfortunately, not a lot of teachers are well informed about this even though we have sent out emails, so the turnout has not been what we expected,” CHS9 HOSA historian Masooma Fatima said.
To combat this, Fatima has created a plan to spread more awareness.
“We are working to make posters to put around the school and individually going and talking to teachers,” Fatima said.
Seeing the process and benefits of the blood pressure drive, CHS9 HOSA officers hope to continue to implement more events in the future to help members gain more skills and have more community involvement.
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