Adult health survey teams may come knocking
If a team of health workers in bright yellow vests knocks on your door next month, you might consider letting them in.
They’ll be the first representatives of new research aimed at helping state and national officials take a snapshot of health in Washington state.
During the next 10 months, teams from the Washington Adult Health Survey project will visit households in 19 counties, including six in the Spokane area, to screen about 1,100 people for heart disease and diabetes.
“We are literally going door-to-door, taking the pulse of the state,” said Dr. Juliet VanEenwyk, state epidemiologist for noninfectious conditions.
The rigorous research is funded by an $800,000 grant from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Organizers plan to contact random residents in about 50 regional block groups and 40 housing units identified through U.S. census records.
The study is expected to yield valuable information about heart disease and stroke, which killed more than 15,000 Washington residents in 2004, and diabetes, which killed 1,500 others.
People who agree to participate will be asked to complete questionnaires about the food they eat, their overall health and the medicines they take. A nurse will take blood pressure and pulse readings along with height, weight and waist measurements. A blood test will measure cholesterol and blood glucose levels. Hair testing for mercury levels will be done for women of childbearing age and everyone aged 60 and older.
Participants will receive vital information about their health – and a $45 gift card for their trouble. More information about the survey is available on the Web at http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/heart_stroke/wahs.htm or by calling (888) 438-2247.
Nurses and other health care workers will begin canvassing pre-selected areas the first week of August. They will carry photo identification and will wear those bright yellow vests.
Donation site at Sacred Heart
There’s a new place to give blood in town.
Starting this week, the Inland Northwest Blood Center and Sacred Heart Medical Center will collaborate to present weekly blood drives on the main floor of the hospital’s new Women’s Health Center.
The grand opening of the satellite site was Monday. The site will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Monday at the center. Walk-in donors are welcome and appointments can be made online at www.inbc2.org or by calling (509) 232-4443.
Organizers hope that the new center will help them reach the goal of collecting 150 pints of blood daily in the region.
“If we’d get anywhere from 15 to 20 units at the new site, we’d be happy,” said Mark Gelhaus, community services coordinator for the blood center.
New hours at Panhandle Health
Starting Aug. 1, the Environmental Health office at the Panhandle Health District will change hours of service for walk-in customers.
The office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., including the lunch hour. Current hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the office closed for lunch. New hours are effective only at the agency’s new office on Atlas Road.
The change is aimed at allowing staff members more time to process applications as quickly as possible, spokeswoman Susan Cuff said.
Comments or questions may be directed to Phyllis Cooper at (208) 415-5200.