To Your Health arrives in the City of Brotherly Love
WASHINGTON CVS/pharmacy is bringing its To Your Health community wellness program to the Philadelphia area starting June 19, the retailer has announced.
More than 80 events are planned at various CVS/pharmacy retail locations in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey through September. The community health screening events, also taking place this year in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., offer a $150 value in free health risk assessments and screenings to help improve access to preventive care to residents in urban and African-American communities.
The first To Your Health screening events in the Philadelphia area will be this weekend and will continue through the summer.
The To Your Health program, launched nationally in April in Atlanta, is part of efforts by CVS/pharmacy to improve access to preventive care in urban communities, including Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. In particular, CVS/pharmacy hopes to address critical health issues among African-Americans, who often have higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure. For example, the rate of diabetes among African-Americans is 11.8%, versus 6.6% of non-Hispanic whites, according to the American Diabetes Association.
The To Your Health community wellness events provide diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol and osteoporosis screenings, as well as examine patients for oral care and provide referrals for mammograms and pap smears. In addition, physicians are on hand to help patients interpret results and provide counsel on next steps.
In 2009, more than 195,000 people were screened at similar free community health screening events for the Hispanic community across the country, and serious health concerns were detected in an alarmingly high percentage of participants. Of the individuals screened:
- 33% had high cholesterol;
- 36% had a high-to-moderate risk of developing osteoporosis;
- 28% had hypertension; and
- 22% had diabetes, with more than half being diagnosed with diabetes for the first time.
See a full schedule of events through September at ToYourHealthUSA.com.