As part of their commitment to the community, the staff at Sycamore Shoals Hospital will be holding a community health screening this week.
Participants can get their blood pressure checked for free at the event and get blood work drawn and processed at a very low cost, said Corey Paulson, director of marketing and communications for Sycamore Shoals Hospital.
Included in the tests for the blood work, lab staff will check blood glucose, hematocrit (which is the percentage of red blood cells present in the blood), triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and risk ratio testing. The cost of the blood work is $15, and no insurance is required, Paulson said.
“These are fasting blood work tests, so participants should not eat or drink anything for eight to 10 hours prior to the tests,” Paulson said.
The cafeteria at the hospital will be open for those who want to eat after their tests are completed.
The test samples will be processed at the SSH phlebotomy lab, and the results will be mailed to participants within a week, Paulson said.
“They can take their results with them to their family physicians if they want,” he said.
This is the first of the community health screenings to be held this year, Paulson said. The event will take place on 7-9 a.m. Saturday. The remaining health screenings will be held April 11, July 11 and Oct. 10, all from 7-9 a.m. The tests are done early in the morning, he said, because patients are required to fast for several hours prior to the screening.
Providing health screenings to the public is just one way Mountain States Health Alliance, which operates Sycamore Shoals Hospital, wants to serve the community, Paulson said.
“This is one of the great examples of one of the things we do to try to improve the health of the community,” he said. “We are always adding new services. We are always trying to improve our services to the community and the quality of the services we provide.”
Sycamore Shoals Hospital experience a high level of success in 2014, including winning the prestigious QUEST award for high-value health care, and Paulson said the hospital wants to build on that success in 2015.
“This is the start to a great year here at the hospital,” he said. “There are great things happening here. There is an amazing staff of people here.”