Blessing Health offers no-cost health screening

A no-cost diabetes-related blood test and blood pressure screening will be available Monday, April 10, at Horizons, 224 S. 8th Street, Quincy, in partnership with Blessing Health. The A1C test and blood pressure reading takes place between 10 am-1 pm. It is open to anyone interested. No registration and no fasting is required.

The A1C test helps to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes. Its results also help patients and their healthcare providers manage the disease. High blood pressure is also twice as frequent in people with diabetes compared with those who do not have diabetes.

Diabetes occurs when the body is either not producing or not properly using the insulin it naturally produces.  That leads to organ-damaging high levels of blood sugar contributing to heart, kidney, vision, and circulatory problems, and to disability or death. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States. 

It is estimated that 1 in 10 Americans, or 37 million people have diabetes, but 1 in 5 of them don’t know they have the disease because people often don’t notice symptoms in early stages of diabetes.

People living with diabetes, or who are at higher than average risk for developing the disease due to family history, race or other factors, could benefit from the screening.

Risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease include: Being Black; Being 45 years or older; Having a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes; Being overweight; and Being physically active less than three times a week.