West Louisville nurse practitioner working to curb health equity issues with preventive education

Improving health equity and bringing attention to disparities, that was the focus of a briefing held today by the CDC.A medical clinic in the Algonquin neighborhood is working to address those very issues. As Black History and Heart Month are coming to an end, a west Louisville nurse practitioner is working to curb these issues through preventive education. “I need my medication, and I got high blood pressure,” said Joann Yelder.Many Black women share a similar story to Joann Yelder. According to the CDC, Black women are 60% more likely to have high blood pressure than white women. In a briefing on Wednesday, experts with the CDC addressed this and other health issues like diabetes that disproportionately affect Black communities.“These conditions are deep-seated. They will require sustained and collective effort to relieve,” said director of the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Janice S. Wright, MD.Here at home, nurse practitioner Kalyn Churchill is part of those efforts.It’s been a little more than five months since UofL Physicians – Primary Care office in the Algonquin neighborhood opened its doors again after being shut down for more than two years.“When the doctor's office opened back up, I said ‘Oh, thank you, Jesus. Good. I’m back,” said Yelder.The office is a staple in the West Louisville neighborhood for patients like Ms. Yelder. “Oh, I'm 67 now. And I've been coming here since I was about 18,” said Yelder.Churchill said a few of her goals include providing accessibility and education to her patients on preventive measures when it comes to things like diabetes and heart disease“I've learned that when you can break it down educationally to them and explain why we do what we do and not just do it, they're more receptive to doing it,” said Churchill.She said being a nurse practitioner of color also makes a difference when it comes to trust and education. “I think to bridge those gaps in health care as far as diversity means a lot. And I think they like seeing a familiar face. They feel more comfortable just kind of about their health care overall. They're more willing to be educated about those chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure,” said Churchill. CDC experts say that 80% of cardiovascular diseases are preventable.Some of the things they encourage people to do is exercise at least once a week and have a healthy diet.