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Only 27 Percent of Houston Kiosk Users Have Normal Blood Pressure
Kelsey Research Foundation Reports Data from Wellness Stations
Houston (May 7, 2009) - A year's worth of data compiled and analyzed by the Kelsey Research Foundation shows that 24 percent of people using Kelsey-Seybold Clinic's downtown Wellness Stations have high blood pressure, and another 49 percent are at risk for developing this serious health condition.
Kelsey-Seybold installed the first health kiosk in the downtown tunnel system in 2007 in partnership with Waste Management, Inc. It has since established two more, working with the City of Houston and the Houston Chronicle. The Wellness Stations, manufactured by Lifeclinic, Inc., help downtown workers and residents keep their health on track. In just five minutes, users can check blood pressure, weight, body-mass index and other key health numbers. They can later share this information securely and confidentially with their physicians over the Internet.
Blood pressure readings are the kiosks' most popular feature. Users checked their blood pressure more than 38,000 times between April 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009.
"These statistics clearly illustrate the heart-health challenges facing our city," said Dr. Kenneth Kennedy, managing physician of Kelsey-Seybold Clinic's Houston Center location. "However, they also show that the population of people using these downtown kiosks beat the national average in terms of blood pressure. The Wellness Stations are terrific tools in helping people gauge their own health."
According to the American Heart Association, a third of American adults age 20 and older—or 73.6 million people—have high blood pressure. Hypertension kills more than 57,000 people in the United States each year, and its incidence increased by more than 25 percent between 1995 and 2005.
The Wellness Stations provide a convenient resource for people who incorporate lunchtime walks through the downtown tunnel system into their fitness routines, and for anyone who lives or works downtown.
About Kelsey-Seybold
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic is Houston's premier multispecialty group practice, founded in 1949 by Dr. Mavis Kelsey in Houston's renowned Texas Medical Center. More than 850 physicians and allied health professionals practice at 40 locations in the Greater Houston area. Kelsey-Seybold offers quality medical care in 65+ medical specialties. The organization operates the largest freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Center in the state of Texas and offers state-of-the-art Varian TrueBeam and Varian Edge radiation therapy technology at a nationally accredited Cancer Center. An accredited Sleep Center, comprehensive laboratory services, advanced imaging and diagnostics, 24 onsite Kelsey pharmacies and one specialty pharmacy, and MyKelseyOnline, a secure web portal, are part of its comprehensive offerings. Kelsey-Seybold partners with major insurers to offer value-based commercial health plans. KelseyCare Advantage, a Medicare Advantage plan offered to Houston-area beneficiaries and affiliated with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, has achieved the coveted 5-out-of-5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid for eight consecutive years.
Kelsey-Seybold has been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as the nation’s first accredited Accountable Care Organization and is home to a nationally accredited Breast Diagnostic Center and Endoscopy Center.
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic achieved a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 91. NPS is the global standard for measuring customer loyalty and satisfaction. An NPS score of 70 or higher is considered by industry experts to be "world class" and an indicator of overwhelming customer loyalty.