Metabolic

Miner Statesman | The GCH Spring Health Fair takes place in a drive-through style by appointment

GRAFTON – Grafton City Hospital (GCH) is committed to ensuring the health and safety of Taylor County’s residents. To this end, they hold an annual spring health fair.

This year it seems more important than ever to focus on your overall health. The hospital wanted to keep hosting its event but made changes to better run a health fair that is as safe as possible for everyone involved due to the current coronavirus pandemic.

“For the health and safety of our community, we have decided to revise the way we run our health fair this spring,” said Nick Jachelski, director of the clinical laboratory at Grafton City Hospital. “We want to reassure the community that the health and safety of our patients and staff will always remain our top priority.”

This year, instead of waiting for a chance on various tests, patients must now book a timeframe for their selected assessments to complete.

“We’ll be running the event five hours a day over five days to give patients the opportunity to attend the health fair this year.” Jachelski shared. “We’re going to allow four people an hour to maximize our time.”

The Spring Health Fair takes place from Monday, March 22nd to Friday, March 26th. The appointments are scheduled daily from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

During the event, attendees report to the hospital shed, where they usually do their COVID-19 tests, for documentation. You will be asked to drive to a specific parking space reserved for visitors to the health fair in order to fill out the information pack.

“As soon as you fill out the package, we’ll take your cell phone number and call you when it’s your turn to come to the shed for your tests,” Jachelski said. “During the event, patients can also use our refreshment area, which is also located outdoors.”

During the event, individuals can have a GCH Executive Profile created, which includes a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) that measures 14 different substances in your blood and provides vital information about your body’s chemical balance and metabolism. a lipid panel that measures your cholesterol and triglycerides; a complete blood count (CBC), which measures red blood cells and hemoglobin, white blood cells and platelets; and a thyroid stimulating hormone (DBS) test to find out how well the thyroid is working.

This series of tests is priced at $ 35. In addition, a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test for men is offered for USD 15, a hemoglobin A-1C test for USD 15, a vitamin D test for USD 30, a blood group for USD 10 and a SARS test. The CoV-2 antibody IgG test is available for $ 42.

The patient can choose a single test or a combination of the above tests. However, individuals are reminded that these are all fasting tests.

“The fast must be completed for 12 hours before blood is drawn,” noted Jachelski.

While tests have been sent to LabCorp for the past few years, this year the hospital’s laboratory will perform analysis for 80 percent of the tests performed.

“This will dramatically reduce the time it takes to get results ready for patients,” Jachelski said. “It used to take two to three weeks for the results to be available. However, since we take care of the analysis internally, the results are available to the participants in just 48 hours. “

When registering, individuals have the option of uploading test results to the hospital’s patient portal, accessing them by email, or sending them directly to their home.

Attendees must call Grafton City Hospital Patient Access at 304-265-0400 to schedule an appointment. During this time, if you wish, you can prepay for the tests you would like to have done.

“We will accept cash, checks and major credit cards during the event,” noted Jacheklski. “To make sure we reach as many people as possible, we’re running an extra week of Health Fair from April 12-16 for those who couldn’t attend this time.”

There is no time like today to take care of your personal health. So be sure to call the hospital to make an appointment that could potentially change your life.

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