-
Blue Ridge HealthCare - Community Outreach

Blue Ridge HealthCare is continually reaching out to our community, offering free health screenings, seminars, public education programs and other events. If you'd like to sponsor or schecule a health screening or event, contact our Community Outreach Coordinator. You may also want to check out the outreach events and happenings on our calendar of events.

Community Outreach particularly tries to help identify people with increased risk for cardiovascular disease, who live and work within Blue Ridge HealthCare's service area.

Thier services and screenings are generally done at community "hubs", such as churches, volunteer fire departments, and community centers.

Community Outreach cardiovascular screenings require that each client complete a cardiovascular risk assessment tool (survey) and have his/her blood pressure assessed. Each participant will then have a lipid screening with glucose panel. Blood is drawn by lab personel, or is collected via a total cholesterol and glucose specimen obtained by finger stick. All participants screened will receive results of their screening, either while at the screening event, or by mail.

Portable cholesterol monitors are utilized to obtain total cholesterol readings within approximately two minutes after the finger stick blood sample is applied, and the strip is inserted into the monitor.

Over 5,000 participants were screened in 2003 and 2004