Dark Chocolate- Lowering Hypertension and Costs

The goal of this quality improvement project was to promote better blood pressure control for residents in a long-term care facility (LTC) who have primary hypertension and potentially reduce the costs associated with their care. Data has shown that nationally, persons with hypertension as a comorbidity pay nearly $2,000 more in healthcare costs compared to their non-hypertensive counterparts (Kirkland, 2018). Chart audits revealed that 63% of residents on a single wing had a diagnosis of primary hypertension and had incidences of high blood pressure recordings. A survey of staff at the LTC faculty showed that 13 out of 15 staff members claimed that residents with a diagnosis of hypertension require more care while one staff member disagreed, and one staff member said they did not know. Despite interventions such as antihypertensive medications, daily physical therapy and modified diets, uncontrolled hypertension was still prevalent with these LTC residents. Research has shown that dark chocolate is a non-pharmacological intervention that could augment medications to help control high blood pressure. Average blood pressures were determined for residents who consented to participate in this project. Dark chocolate was administered once daily to 9 participants over the course of 3 weeks. After implementing the daily chocolate intake, another audit was completed to compare the average blood pressures and evaluate whether any blood pressure changes occurred. Hypertension is very costly for long-term care facilities due to frequent hospitalizations and complication-related readmission, which are paid for by the facility (Kirkland, 2018). Thus, engaging in non-pharmacological interventions such as dark chocolate may potentially reduce costs to the LTC facility if shown to be effective

Luen Hai: Decoding the Connection

The birth of technology has made staying in touch with one another simple, but in staying connected with each other, there has been a loss of the connection with our planet. The increasing amount of electronic waste around us daily has demonstrated the failure in finding sustainable ways to dispose of it. Fascinated by this issue, ETL traveled to Hong Kong to document what is happening to our e-waste, and what we can do about it. After sharing the documentary with our community, ETL was able to partner with the sustainability offices at CSB/SJU to begin a sustainable depository for e-waste within our immediate community. In addition to the depository, we also researched the best e-waste deposit centers within the Twin Cities, where the majority of our students are from, so that sustainable e-waste recycling doesn’t end upon graduation

Nibi Eteg: Where the Water Is

Over this past year, ETL produced a documentary on the spiritual and cultural significance individuals have with water. The two stories the team chose to parallel were from the perspectives of Hindu individuals in India and the band of Chippewa Native Americans in Red Lake, Minnesota. Both of these stories explored the connection people share with water, either by religious or cultural practice. Throughout the film, we identified the presence of a gap within American ties to water. The gap, we learned, is not a failure in forming a connection, nor understanding the significance of water, but that individuals struggle to perceive the connection they have with water. In failing to form connection, we succeed at forming apathy towards the water we survive by. Following our documentary premiere, ETL worked in partnership with 13 other campus clubs and organizations ranging from Women’s Leadership and Campus ministry to Chemistry Club and College Democrats and Republicans, to put together Water Week, a week-long journey allowing students to see the importance of and connection we share with water as we walk along our everyday lives. This initiative is one that will continue every year with these clubs, and we hope will expand to even more as the years continue