Nineteen members of the Owen D. Young Central School (ODY) received free screening from Bassett Hospital’s Community Heart Program. School nurse Rebecca Meehan arranged for Virginia Barton to conduct the screening which took staff members less than 20 minutes each to complete. Staff members were screened for total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, blood pressure,  carbon monoxide, blood glucose.

Head of Building and Grounds Don Monk participated in the free Bassett Community Heart Care Program held at Owen D. Young Central School. Seated, Virginia Barton readies Monk for cholesterol screening while school nurse Rebecca Meehan looks on. (Photo by Bruce Watson)

Based on the results of the health screening, staff members were given a heart disease risk score that compares their chances of getting heart disease in the next ten years to other men and women in the same age bracket.

Staff were given the opportunity to speak with a trained counselor who reviewed their results and gave information to improve their heart health. Suggestions were made to possibly follow up with their health care providers if the results were considered abnormal.  

“This was a free service and went along will with our school’s wellness plan,” said Meehan.

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer for The Mercury and currently substitutes for ODY. He is a recent retiree of RSCS.