We are HAPPY to help!
Hypertension Awareness & Prevention Program at Yale (HAPPY) is a collaboration of Yale University students, health professionals, and New Haven health care organizations dedicated to providing regular hypertension screenings, linking hypertensive individuals with affordable and immediate medical care, and eliminating barriers to follow-up care for under-served communities in New Haven.
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The ultimate goal of HAPPY is to establish cost-effective, long term community based approaches that foster self-management behaviors for chronic hypertension among the homeless population.
We provide free blood pressure screenings and basic educational information with respect to hypertension to medically underserved members of our community.
We endeavor to serve by establishing a consistent and permanent presence in the New Haven community.
We engage HAPPY members in active volunteerism, educational outreach, fundraising, and innovative projects to tackle patient barriers to care.
We apply evidence-based program development by pursuing research and publications.
We envision creating a successful model in New Haven and building a foundation for a national student hypertension service and research initiative.
COVID-19 and HAPPY
HAPPY halted all in-person volunteering efforts in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and instead focused on fundraising for medical supplies. In accordance with CDC guidelines and the Yale Community Compact, this pause extended throughout Summer 2021 out of an abundance of caution for community members, our collaborators, and our volunteers. However, we are optimistic about the potential to resume our work in Fall 2021.
Our New, Broader Initiative!
HAPPY has taken an active stance towards refining what student-led blood pressure screening groups need to do in order to effectively make a change in the lives of those we interact with. After all, we want to find ways to effectively decrease blood pressure in the community we screen. To accomplish this broader task, HAPPY is the founding member of an umbrella organization functioning to coordinate volunteer efforts at multiple universities and institutions throughout the country. Read about our new initiative by clicking on the CATCH UP link in the menu bar, or by clicking here.