Posts Tagged ‘Ivy Tech’

Free back-to-school supplies are being offered at two Indianapolis locations on Saturday (Aug. 1) thanks to communitywide sponsorships by MHS, one of the state’s leading health plan providers.

One event is being held in the parking lot of the Marion County Health Department at 3838 North Rural Street. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., school-age children can obtain some items they’ll need once classes start in just weeks. Student-athletes can also have their physicals completed at the event. Parents can purchase copies of their children’s birth certificates for a small fee with a valid ID. Free health screenings and immunizations will be offered and there’ll also be games and activities to keep young children entertained.

The other event is at the Martin Luther King Center at 40 West 40th Street. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., free back packs, school supplies and more will be available for area families while they last. Parents can take advantage of free glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure screenings offered at the event through a partnership between MHS and Ivy Tech Community College.

At both events, MHS mascot RosieRoo will be present giving high fives and encouraging children to live active, healthy lives. Check out more about RosieRoo and other “Just for Kids” cool things on the MHS Web site.

Managed Health Services and Ivy Tech Community College are partnering this summer to offer free glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure screenings at community health fairs throughout the state.

Nearly 25 technician and medical assisting externs from Ivy Tech’s central Indiana campus will be performing the screenings. Judy Ward, a program director at Ivy Tech’s School of Health Sciences, says the experience that the externs will gain from performing the screenings at MHS events will be invaluable. “To gain actual experience in dealing with many different types of patients in a health screening setting is the type of real-life situation and scenarios that cannot be reproduced in the classroom.”

The free screenings are being offered at a great time. According to the Indiana State Department of Health, more than 8 percent of the adult population has been diagnosed with diabetes compared to the national average of 7.5 percent. Indiana is also burdened with a rising number of children diagnosed with obesity and diabetes. This chronic disease was the sixth leading cause of death in Indiana in 2005, ranking fourth for African Americans, seventh for Caucasians and sixth for Hispanics/Latinos.

MHS currently has heightened diabetes awareness campaigns designed to educate its members about the importance of preventing the onset of diabetes and identify those in need of treatment in several communities, including Muncie, Elkhart, Gary and Bloomington.