The AARP/Walgreens Wellness Tour is traveling the country, embarking on a ten-month trip to provide an expected $14 million worth of free health tests.
The national mobile tour will conduct free health-testing events in communities throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The free tests--which include total cholesterol levels, blood pressure, bone density, glucose levels, waist circumference and body mass index--are valued at $100 per person and may help provide adults with a critical foundation for early disease detection and prevention.
The tests take place on the bus and a pharmacist or staff member provides results immediately and is available to review them. Consumers are encouraged to visit a doctor or health care provider with any concerns. Through the tour they also have access to free educational information, in English and Spanish, on a variety of health and wellness issues.
The AARP/Walgreens Wellness Tour is comprised of nine custom-equipped buses with a trained staff that travel separate routes canvassing the country, and visiting more than 3,000 communities.
Each bus spends several days in designated cities providing free services at local events, community centers, Walgreens stores and other locations to make health tests more accessible to the community.
Health tests are a critical method for detecting potential diseases before symptoms are noticed and can improve quality of life for those tested. Of consumers tested during the 2010 tours:
• 67.9% had high body mass index. • 64.1% had high blood pressure levels. • 38.0% had high cholesterol levels. • 36.7% had low bone density."We are pleased to continue our effort with Walgreens to help provide important health tests at a time when many still cannot afford preventive health care," said A. Barry Rand, AARP's chief executive officer.
"The results from the first year on the road speak volumes to the need for these basic tests, and will go a long way in increasing the chances for early detection of chronic disease and other potential health problems."
Test participants must be 18 or older. No appointment is needed for the tests.
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