Clinical Nurse Manager Amy Sawin (left) discusses the importance of preventive testing with Health and Wellness Day attendees. (Photo by Gwen Sawer)
PARKERSBURG — WVU Medicine Camden Clark held its annual Health and Wellness Day Saturday at the Health and Wellness Center, located at 2804 Birch Street.
The focus of the day was preventive care and a variety of tests and resources from WVU Medicine and its partners, with 20 vendors providing materials on helplines, warning signs to watch out for and where to get additional care.
“The biggest thing we’re offering right now is cost savings on blood testing,” said Louis Herr of the West Virginia University School of Medicine, “and we do this about three times a year. People come in, pay for the blood test, get their voucher today, and then within the next month they can use it at any of the six locations that Camden Clark has around the city.”
The event also handed out free ECG test vouchers to the first 100 people who attended the event. The ECG test vouchers could be redeemed on September 14th.
The Rotary Club of Parkersburg sold the vouchers at cost price: $43 for women and $50 for men. Rotary has a longstanding partnership with WVU Medicine Camden Clark.
According to Kim Couch, Rotary president and executive director of the Camden Clark Foundation, this is a great opportunity to get involved.
“This is an opportunity for us to volunteer in the community. Our mission is service before self and this really fits that,” Couch said.
Additional scans available include a blood pressure check, body fat percentiles and a skin scan.
Skin scans aim to detect areas of possible skin cancer that are not immediately visible to the patient.
“We look at your face, forehead and neck to look for potential areas of concern or problems that may not be visible to the naked eye,” says Lauren Gillian, director of cancer services at West Virginia University School of Medicine, “and then we just share that information with participants so they can observe and monitor, work with their health care providers to come up with a plan and educate them on how to protect their skin.”
Westbrook Health Services shared information about addiction prevention care and mental health support in the region. Westbrook stated that they have established 173 program sites in 47 counties in West Virginia and provided information about suicide prevention in West Virginia. Additionally, they provided resources for their Crisis Text Line and Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Westbrook offers office-based addiction treatment to help people with substance use disorders in the region.
Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com.
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