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BWWMH
Auxiliary Helps Fund Health Screenings
Residents of Marengo County will have greater
access to free health screenings thanks to the Bryan W.
Whitfield Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. In February, the
group voted to donate $4,000 to the Rural Assistance
Program for Churches and Schools (RAPCS) to help fund the
group’s efforts to offer free health screenings,
including cholesterol and diabetes, to area residents. A
program offered through the Tombigbee Healthcare
Authority’s GROWestAL Division, RAPCS provides
free health screenings to communities throughout Marengo
County.
“We’re
always looking for ways assist the hospital and the
patients it services,” said Auxiliary President Lloyd
Jones, “ and we felt that this program is a perfect
opportunity for us to help reach out to those who may not
be able to get to the hospital easily.”
“RAPCS
works to improve access to healthcare by establishing
outreach healthcare sites throughout the county in schools
and churches where people are isolated and without direct
access to health care,” explained Marcia Pugh, Division
Director of GROWestAL and RAPCS Program Coordinator.
“We’ve also worked to implement a health education
campaign that would increase the public awareness of
healthcare, and increase the public's awareness of
availability of healthcare services.”
Community donations like that of the BWWMH
Auxiliary help to keep the program afloat and help them to
reach more patients each month. According to Pugh, this
donation is especially important to the program as coronary heart disease is a significant
contributor to the nation’s healthcare costs. “It is
estimated that the nation spends over $139 billion in the
treatment of heart disease every year,” she explained.
“Locally, RAPCS’ investment in managing the care of
patients with heart disease will decrease the area’s
medical expenditures by $55,469,897.76 over the next 5
years. Comparing the costs of our program with these
medical savings, the 5-year return on investment for
medical expenditures is $721.41 for every dollar spent --
a major benefit to the areas already-fiscally stressed
health care system.”
The donation from the Auxiliary
will help pay for the necessary glucose and cholesterol
test strips and controls for the year and, hopefully, will
help to encourage more groups to contribute to the
program. “A program of this nature is so important to
our area,” Lloyd said, “but, like everything else, the
expenses for providing this service are going up and our
donation is only a drop in the bucket compared to what it
costs to take this program on the road. We hope that other
groups will contact the RAPCS program to see how they can
help as well.”
For
more information regarding the RAPCS Program, contact Pugh
at 334-287-2579 or email her at mapugh@bwwmh.com.
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