The American Heart Association is rolling out a blood-pressure screening initiative in local hair salons and barber shops. Pictured is a training session for students of Petersburg-based Another Level cosmetology school, where the local project was recently launched. (Courtesy American Heart Association)
The American Heart Association’s local arm is piloting a program that gives hair salon customers the chance to get blood-pressure checks along with their blowouts.
The nonprofit last month stationed two blood-pressure monitoring units at Another Level Barbering and Cosmetology School in Petersburg, which is expected to be the first of many businesses involved. The project is designed to make it easier for people to keep tabs on their heart health and seek further medical attention, if needed. Another Level has a public-facing salon where people can get their hair cut by students.
The program calls for hair stylists to offer a blood-pressure check to a client during a hair appointment. Staff at hair salons and barber shops are trained by the AHA to assist their clients in checking their blood pressure. If a customer gets screened and has a high reading, the customer would be able to consult on-site informational resources about scheduling a doctor’s appointment.
The AHA said it targeted barbershops and salons for the screening program because they tend to be community hubs, and the initiative is piggybacking off the relationship that is built between a hair stylist and a customer. The idea is that a barbershop is a less intimidating place than a medical office, and by going to salons the nonprofit is better able to promote heart health.
“We’re meeting people where they are. We know that at barber shops and hair salons, there’s such a level of trust involved in that relationship,” said Robin Gahan, the American Heart Association’s vice president of community impact in central Virginia.
Gahan described the blood-pressure machines at Another Level, which cost $2,000 each, as being somewhere between an at-home unit and the large kiosk-style unit found at pharmacies and medical facilities.
“It’s an automated upper arm (device), like what you’d traditionally see in a healthcare setting. People call it a nurse on a stick. To have the different range of cuffs, and because the school is a much larger space than the standard barbershop, we decided to put those pieces of equipment there,” Gahan said.
The local branch of the national nonprofit selected a Petersburg location to kick off the program because elevated blood pressure levels are common in the city. The goal is to have monitoring equipment in 10 barbershops and hair salons in the region in the program’s first year, and expand to at least 25 locations in the second year. The program intends to focus on Petersburg, Hopewell and Richmond locations.
Gahan said that she expects to see a range of equipment options at other barbershops and salons, and that it would probably cost about $1,000 to $3,000 per location for the nonprofit to provide the necessary training and equipment. The American Heart Association intends to provide follow-up training sessions after the initial training classes.
The AHA coordinated with Central Virginia Health Services, Crater Health District and Aetna Better Health of Virginia to implement the program.
Other branches of the national nonprofit have introduced similar programs in barbershops and other locations in different parts of the country.
The local branch decided on Another Level to initiate the program because its stylists will then move on to other salons in the region after their studies at the cosmetology school.
“They’re going to go on to other places, either starting their own businesses or joining existing shops, and that really helps us have a greater ripple effect in how many people we can reach,” Gahan said.
While the initiative with hair salons and barber shops is just getting started, the local AHA already has introduced a similar program in other venues.
Richmond libraries started to offer self-monitoring stations through the AHA in early 2023. Earlier this year, the local arm also launched a program with Richmond and Petersburg libraries to offer blood-pressure equipment that can be checked out.
Great idea! Especially in areas where hypertension is very prevalent. Hope this will save some lives.
…and recommend a grocery list with processed turkey, chicken, milk, and ground beef. But also LOTS of almonds:
https://www.heart.org/en/grocery-list
Sounds like Big Pharma trying to capture more market share by directing customers to their Doctors. I’d be more impressed if there were Nutritionists standing by to educate about our tainted food supply. I guess it’s a start.