IN Ross Township Fall 2017 | Page 9

included civil engineering firm Newell, Tereska & MacKay (NTM) Engineering, Inc. and, most recently, the FIGG Bridge Group. The PSU Bridges to Prosperity Chapter also performs local community service projects in Centre County’s Shaver’s Creek, layering dirt and gravel and repairing old bridges along the area’s Black Walnut Trail. They also raised enough money this year to sponsor two B2P dancers in the 2017 THON, a student-run philanthropy committed to enhancing the lives of children and families impacted by childhood cancer. The Penn State Chapter of Bridges to Prosperity is a nonprofit that provides isolated communities with access to their basic needs. Bridges to Prosperity envisions a world where poverty caused by rural isolation no longer exists. For more information and additional photographs, please visit the following sites — National B2P Website: bridgestoprosperity.org; PSU B2P Chapter Website: bridgestoprosperitypsu.org; PSU B2P Facebook page: facebook.com/ pennstatebridgestoprosperity/. ROSE YMCA BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING PROGRAM The Million Hearts campaign was launched in 2012 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with the goal of preventing one million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. As part of this effort to prevent cardiovascular disease, the Y-USA designed a program to reduce participants’ blood pressure based on the successful “Check It, Change It” research study. The YMCA’s Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring Program supports adults with high blood pressure in developing the habit of self-monitoring blood pressure and understanding the role nutrition plays in pressure management through personalized support. The BPSM evidence-based program is a four-month program designed to help adults with high blood pressure develop the habit of routine blood pressure monitoring. The goals of the program are: 1) Reduce blood pressure. 2) Develop new skills for managing blood pressure. 3) Gain the ability to identify and control triggers that raise blood pressure. 4) Increase confidence in adopting healthier eating habits. Heart Healthy ambassadors from the YMCA will take participants’ blood pressure during face-to-face meetings and will train participants to take their o wn blood pressure accurately using the American Heart Association ABCD protocol. In addition, the YMCA will offer a nutrition education seminar each month. For more information, email the Healthy Living Director at the Rose Family YMCA in Cranberry Township at [email protected]. n Ross Township | Fall 2017 | icmags.com 7