Yankton, SD —Yankton Medical Clinic, P.C. was recently awarded a grant from South Dakota Department of Health (SD DOH), Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program (HDSPP), along with a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to implement a self-measured blood pressure monitoring program.

The grant will allow Yankton Medical Clinic, P.C. to implement a new self-monitoring blood pressure program based on recommended guidelines that patients monitor their blood pressure outside of their physician’s office. Dr. Susan Fanta, Board Certified Internal Medicine at Yankton Medical Clinic, P.C., explains, “Monitoring outside of your physician’s office assists with the diagnosis and control of your blood pressure. Self-monitoring of blood pressure (SMBP) has become the standard of care in managing hypertension and we are thrilled to receive this grant to allow us to develop and design a uniform program throughout our clinic that will positively impact our patient’s blood pressure management.” Dr. Fanta is the lead Doctor of the grant implementation, along with Dr. Martha Holstein, Board Certified Internal Medicine, Dr. Elizabeth Nicholas, Board Certified Family Medicine, and Jill Mitzel, RN, Director of Nursing, all of Yankton Medical Clinic, P.C.

The grant has provided Yankton Medical Clinic, P.C. with educational material and the ability to purchase blood pressure cuffs to loan to patients who are not able to obtain a blood pressure device on their own.
Dr. Fanta explains, “In August, we will begin implementing our new program throughout the clinic. We have already designed a recommended monitoring schedule we will be releasing for patients to complete at home and bring back to their physician. We are excited for our patients to have this opportunity and will continue to seek ways in which we can help our patients be an active participant in their overall health care and wellbeing.”