| 2002 Community Wellness Report: Serving the Community |
Fairmont General Hospital is very involved in community wellness. The FGH Laboratory continued to offer multiphasic testing on a bi-weekly basis on Saturday mornings. Approximately 6000 persons participated throughout the year.The program also benefits over 24 community groups that assist with the clinics. Generally one out of every 100 persons tested are found to be in early stages of medical problems that are immediately addressed. When detected early, medical problems are treated inexpensively and easily. In addition to providing people with easy to understand results, this program benefits schools, churches, and community organizations financially. The hospital donated over $41,000 back to these groups for their sponsorship of each of the bi-weekly clinics. In addition, a new 'private request' program was initiated wherein anyone could request testing 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.The offerings include Hemoglobin A1C, a special test for diabetic monitoring over a three month period, blood type and Rh, urine macroscopic for infections, urine pregnancy, drug and alcohol testing and fecal occult blood. This has proven to be a popular program that provides immediate results.
Health promotion services were expanded to include bone density testing and ankle brachial screening this year. FGH provided numerous free and low cost screening events throughout the year at various community locations including the Fairmont and Mannington Senior Centers, Scott Place Shelter, and work site locations. In addition to participation in the annual Extension Homemaker's health fair, FGH offered its third annual "Health Expo" in November at the Fairmont Knights of Columbus, which also co-sponsored the event. Over 1200 people participated. Free and low cost testing was offered in addition to the popular flu and pneumovax immunizations.
In addition to these programs, numerous FGH departments provided educational programs on a variety of topics ranging from understanding lab results, pulmonary assessments, depression screening and medications. Smoking cessation programs were also offered to the community. Diabetic education was expanded and outpatient counseling is now offered at the White Hall Rehabilitation Clinic. Staff from new programs such as Wound Healing and Pulmonary Rehabilitation also provided numerous community outreach and education. FGH continued to offer regular childbirth and prenatal education, support groups for diabetic patients, cardiac rehab participants, persons with arthritis, cancer survivors and other special interest groups. It is estimated that over 500 persons were reached through community presentations, and over 200 are involved in on going support groups. FGH completed its third and final year of financial support and underwriting for the PATCH program, which has targeted school populations and smoke-free efforts for the county.
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