The Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce is hoping record number of people will take advantage of free health screenings at this year's HealthSmart Interactive Wellness Expo on Wednesday.<br />
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Physicians from The Longstreet Clinic will be on hand to review the screenings with patients and to answer questions. The HealthSmart Expo runs from 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Gainesville Civic Center.<br />
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Kit Dunlap, president of the chamber, said organizers have set a goal of 300 people for the screenings, which will check Blood Pressure Checks, Body Mass Index Calculation, Venous Reflux Screening, Cholesterol, Triglycerides and Glucose (sugar) Testing and more. A person must be 18 or older to be screened.<br />
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The first 100 people who get screened and who bring a friend or co-worker with them will receive a free T-shirt, Dunlap said.<br />
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The screenings are free, and Dr. Eileen Javellana, an internist with Comprehensive Care at The Longstreet Clinic, said the screenings are ideal for anyone who doesn't current have a primary care physician. But she added that even those who get regular care can learn something from the screenings.<br />
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"Obviously, we're trying to get people who are not attached to anyone at this point, in terms of not having any health care at all," Javellana said. "As a hospitalist, I see a lot of people who are at the other end of it, who have not seen a doctor for so long and we bring them into the hospital and they say, 'Oh, now I have high blood pressure and diabetes and you gave me all these diseases.' Well, we didn't give them to you. You had them, but nobody knew about it."<br />
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Javellana said the screenings wouldn't be much different than going for a regular doctor's visit. <br />
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"When you arrive, you'll sit down with the docs or a provider and we'll get a brief history from you, just like we'd do in an office," she said. "Then we will check your blood pressure, your blood sugar and your cholesterol, just like a mini doctor's office."<br />
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Javellana said medical equipment will be available to do the blood work, and physicians will be able to discuss the results and make any other recommendations.<br />
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"That's the whole purpose of health screenings, to look for problems a person might be having," she said. "My thought on that has always been you are a complicated machine. Well, you bring your car to get tuned up and belts changed out and get your oil change, you get you tired rotated. You are a far more complex machine than a car, so you need a lot more maintenance."<br />
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Over 60 wellness businesses and vendors will be on hand for the HealthSmart Expo, Dunlap said. The Chamber will also name the "Most Fit Companies" in Gainesville-Hall County. The award is presented in three categories
