Committee discusses blood-pressure kiosks, home cuff rentals and student screenings

Committee members reviewed ongoing blood-pressure screening and monitoring efforts at Milwaukee County senior centers and discussed ways to expand reach. A county staff member described tabletop blood-pressure kiosks at the county’s four open senior centers and a rental program that makes 10 cuffs available at each center for two-week checkout.

“It's a rental program. We have 10 cuffs at each center that you could rent out for two weeks,” the staff member said, describing additional take-home materials and a how‑to guide provided with the cuff. Members noted the county partners with the American Heart Association to provide education that helps seniors understand their numbers and find follow-up care.

Committee members also described past collaborations with local career-academy students and university clinical students who have helped with in-person blood-pressure screenings at some sites. One member said offering student volunteers can make screenings more accessible for older adults who find the kiosk interfaces unfamiliar.

The committee discussed tracking use counts (staff reported more than 8,000 uses of the machines reported during a recent period) but noted limitations in measuring unique users because kiosks can be used multiple times by the same person. Members asked staff to continue tracking usage and to coordinate with Serving Our Seniors, the senior-center programming contractor, to consider outreach and placement strategies.