Special to The Post-Searchlight

Memorial Hospital and Manor is sponsoring two health fairs in October, for anyone in the community who would like to take advantage of low cost blood analysis and free screenings, according to a press release from the hospital.

The first is a health fair especially for senior citizens, which will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 4, from 8 a.m. to noon at the First Baptist Church on the corner of Shotwell and Clay streets. Anyone age 65 and older may attend.

A second community health fair will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Decatur County Memorial Coliseum on Wheat Avenue at Bainbridge Middle School.

Both health fairs are free of charge, except for a fee of $20 for the laboratory wellness profile and a fee of $15 for the PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) screening for prostate cancer. The wellness profile is a value of $313 in blood tests that include a lipid profile (cholesterol), glucose, BUN, creatinine, Hemoglobin and Hematocrit tests. The PSA test is a value of $129. Fasting is recommended for more accurate test results.

In addition to the laboratory wellness profile and PSA screening, other screenings include blood pressure check, pulmonary function testing, vision and glaucoma tests, and body fat analysis. Flu shots will be available at each health fair for $25 while supplies last.

Jodi Scott, Laboratory Manager at Memorial Hospital and Manor, said results from the blood tests will be mailed to patients after approximately two weeks from each health fair. Participants are advised to take the report to their personal physician for review.

Pre-registration forms are available on the hospital website at www.mh-m.org, or at the hospital’s front lobby desk. Pre-registration forms should be turned in at least one week prior to each health fair. Completed forms may be mailed to Jodi Scott, Laboratory Manager, Memorial Hospital and Manor, 1500 E. Shotwell Street, Bainbridge, Georgia 39819, or faxed to (229) 243-3329. Do not include payment with pre-registration forms.

“If pre-registration forms are not turned in at the Lab by the deadline, we are asking everyone to bring the form to the health fair with them so that there will be no delays in finding your form,” Scott said. “Pre-registration saves time; however, participants may also complete the form at the health fair, if they don’t pre-register.”

The community health fair on Oct. 11 is being held on a teacher planning day so that Decatur County teachers will have an opportunity to participate.

Health fairs are an excellent opportunity for people to get some of the health screenings that they may have postponed. During past health fairs, diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, glaucoma and other serious illnesses have been detected in participants, which led to proper diagnosis and life-saving treatments.

For more information about health fairs, contact Jan Godwin, Director of Public Relations, at (229) 243-6187.