Teche Action Clinic gets funding for hypertension treatment

Teche Action Clinic has received supplemental funding totaling more than $130,000 to treat patients with hypertension.
The $132,480 in funding was announced in a release Tuesday from the office of U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Center Cluster Program.
Teche Action Clinic CEO Dr. Gary Wiltz said a statistical analysis was conducted on the number of patients the clinic treated for hypertension.
“That was one of the priorities, to try to target that population to get them under better control,” Wiltz said.
The funding will be used for various aspects of treating hypertension, Wiltz said. Education, the importance of diet, following medicine guidelines and monitoring blood pressure are aspects targeted with the funding. The clinic is looking to use some of the money to invest in remote patient monitoring devices.
Wiltz said the devices would assist in making better decisions on hypertension patients’ health because additional data would be available to be examined rather than just one blood pressure reading taken during a doctor’s visit every few months.
“So the more I can get you involved in checking your blood pressure correctly and keeping a log, then we can look at the average blood pressure readings,” he said.
The pandemic ushered in more ways to provide healthcare to the public, Wiltz said, and people are becoming more active in their healthcare needs.
According to the American Heart Association’s website, 34.1% of Louisiana adults suffer from high blood pressure.
Teche Action Clinic is one of three agencies in Higgins’ district who will receive funding. Iberia Comprehensive Community Health Center has been awarded $271,680, while SWLA Center for Health Services will receive $199,500.
“Louisiana’s community health centers are critical providers of primary care services in our rural and underserved areas,” Higgins said in a release announcing the funding. “These investments help our local health centers perform and enable them to continue providing quality care for our communities.”