EudoraNews.com

After Tuesday, the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department no longer will have senior health screenings.

Director of Nurses Barbara Schnitker said the clinic for people 60 years and older began in the early 1970s when there was an influx of money for aging services like senior centers, transportation and meals.

The clinic screened using measurements such as height, weight, blood pressure and hemoglobin. If patients were out of the normal range, they were referred to their primary care physicians.

This service was provided once a month to Baldwin, Eudora, LeCompton and twice a month to Lawrence. Service in Baldwin was discontinued about 10 years ago after attendance dropped.

Attendance continued to drop at all of the locations. In Eudora, the screenings averaged about four people per month in 2004 and 2005. They averaged just two in 2006 and 2007, and in some months no one showed up.

Schnitker said there was no definitive reason why attendance had dropped, but surmised it could be from the availability more home testing machines and the prevalence of information that makes the screenings seems obsolete.

"People who have blood sugar issues have hand-held glucometers, and it's not uncommon for people to take their blood pressure at home," she said.

The department conducted a survey during last flu season - the time when they are busiest - to try to ascertain demand for the service. They found that many didn't know about the screenings.

"Based on the survey results, we thought we could try to improve promotional activities, but it still hasn't made a difference," Schnitker said. "With the budget cuts that we faced, we really had to take a hard look at everything that we do. So, we came to the conclusion that people could get the care they need elsewhere."

Schnitker said there are more screening services available such as blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol testing at pharmacies. Plus, there is a health fair at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in September and senior fair in the spring.

The department still will do flu shots in the fall, but Tuesday will be the final time it will come to Eudora. However, it is looking into ways to educate communities as it recently did with a series of classes on arthritis.

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