Community Health Workers organize free wellness screenings as COVID reappears
Community Health Workers with Illinois’ Pandemic Health Navigator Program announced today a series of free health screenings that will take place in Metro East as the region prepares for another surge of COVID-19 infections.
During a similar five-day tour of Illinois’ southernmost counties in May, Community Health Workers were able to provide preventive screenings to nearly 170 people through the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois’ KidneyMobile®. Services at KidneyMobile® stops include blood glucose readings, high blood pressure checks, A1c hemoglobin tests for diabetics, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference measurements, urinalysis tests, and blood draws for people at risk of kidney disease. Participants will receive a copy of their test results and consult with a healthcare professional about what they mean.
Participants are encouraged to schedule their visit at https://www.nkfi.org/get-screened for any of the following wellness screenings:
FAIRMONT CITY
June 20, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Fairmont City Community Center
4001 Cookson Rd.
EAST SAINT LOUIS
June 21, 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
East St. Louis City Hall
301 River Park Dr.
VENICE
June 22, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Tyrone Echols Senior Center
1302 Klein Ave.
WOOD RIVER
June 23, 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Madison County Health Department
101 E. Edwardsville Rd.
GRANITE CITY
June 24, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Granite City Township Hall
2060 Delmar Ave.
COVID-19 transmission levels are not tracking in Madison and St. Clair Counties quite like they are across the Mississippi River in Saint Louis and Saint Charles Counties. But given the region’s interconnectivity and how easily new variants are transmitted, public health officials in the St. Louis metropolitan area are concerned that may not be the case for long.
These free screenings come as researchers study what long-term effects COVID-19 has on kidney health, but also at a time when kidney diseases are wildly undiagnosed. The National Kidney Foundation estimates 90 percent of people with a kidney disease, such as diabetes, Glomerulonephritis, polycystic kidney disease and various autoimmune and urinary tract abnormalities, are unaware of their condition.
In addition to adhering to updated safety recommendations for kidney disease patients, the Illinois Public Health Association and Illinois Primary Health Care Association encourage anyone immunocompromised to stay current with their COVID-19 vaccinations. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends immunocompromised individuals receive a vaccine regimen that includes two primary doses and two boosters. Community Health Workers across Illinois are available to answer questions about COVID-19 and to help schedule a nearby vaccine appointment. A full directory of Pandemic Health Navigator Program providers is available online at www.helpguidethrive.org.
