B/P Screening Project in Lugari District (Kenya)

Alice Bedi remembers growing up and watching helplessly as her mother’s health deteriorated leading to a life of over-the-counter painkillers. It was not until she came to North America and pursued a career in nursing that she realized her mother had suffered from high blood pressure all her life and since there was no health insurance or even a functional hospital nearby, she suffered silently for a condition that could have been easily screened had preventative measures been put in place.

She therefore swore to herself she would do everything in her power to ensure that no person in her village would suffer from such a condition. She returned home recently and instituted a mobile blood pressure screening program where trained professionals make home visits, screen and provide basic health information to the villagers.

Alice has been doing this project from her own pocket but as the program has become known, demands have increased tremendously and she can no longer afford to meet the need. For $20.00, one professional is able to screen and provide basic professional care to one patient, four times a week.