St. Rose Health Center is taking its mission to improve community health and wellness to the streets – one employer at a time.

One of its most recent events was a lab fair/health screening at Fuller Industries.

“Our visits to Fuller Industries and other employers are part of our WellnessWorks service,” said Mark Mingenback, corporate health consultant. “When businesses and agencies realize how easy and accessible this is, they take advantage of the many benefits.”

At Fuller, a St. Rose physician, along with nurses and medical lab technicians screened employees and family members. Readings were compiled during tests for blood pressure, pulse rate, cholesterol and body mass index.

“This allowed them to identify health issues earlier rather than later,” Mingenback explained. “Our on-site screenings help us engage directly with employees. They become more aware of how important these numbers are in preventing serious health issues.”

For example, a woman at Fuller learned about her high blood pressure numbers. Hypertension, which has been referred to as the “silent killer,” increases the risk of stroke, and heart and kidney disease.

“This Fuller employee chose to follow up at St. Rose and we set up an appointment for her,” Mingenback said. “And yes, she needed medication.”

Mingenback noted St. Rose will make appointments with any doctor the patient wants.

St. Rose also uses these opportunities to educate people about the importance of family medical history in conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

“This is available to any employer in Barton and Pawnee counties – no matter the size,” Mingenback said. “Like all health-care facilities, part of St. Rose’s mission is caring for the sick and injured. But the second part of our mission is equally important.

“We are here to improve the well-being of the whole community,” he explained. “That is easy to say, yet hard to do. But St. Rose will continue to invest resources in WellnessWorks. We hope employees who have been screened will encourage their colleagues to do the same.”

Linda Bonewell, Fuller Industries human resources manager, said 80 people participated in the recent screening. Another event will be scheduled for later this year at the business.

“A healthy workforce is instrumental to ensuring the manufacture of our quality products,” Bonewell said. “This results in customer satisfaction. And there are fewer lost workdays.

“It has been proven time and time again that healthier employees are more productive, not just on the job but in other aspects of their lives,” she continued. “Quality of life improves because you feel better if you are more productive.”

The cost is minimal, she said, noting WellnessWorks screenings are encouraged but voluntary. The employee may choose which tests to take.

Fees include: $25 for a comprehensive blood test; $7.50 for a diabetes check; and $16 for a prostate test. Some tests are free.

“These affordable fees allow us to take a proactive approach,” Bonewell said, noting that screenings can help control health-insurance premiums. “Wellness is much more cost effective than ignoring health concerns. We encourage everyone to seek advice about how to prevent a catastrophic event.”

The human resources manager also noted that employees are offered educational materials before and after the screening. Even if their numbers are in the healthy range now, they may need information later.

“This is an ongoing educational process,” Bonewell commented. “We want to give our valuable employees the information they need to lead healthy lives at home and at work.”

Bonewell noted that St. Rose’s Mingenback deciphers complex health-care regulations and designs a screening format that works best for individual employers.

For more information, contact Mingenback by calling 620-786-6136.

St. Rose specializes in primary care, prevention and wellness. Services include St. Rose Family Medicine, Convenient Care Walk-in Clinic, Great Bend Internists, imaging, infusion clinic, WellnessWorks, one-day surgical procedures, Golden Belt Home Health & Hospice and a comprehensive Specialty Clinic. St. Rose is co-owned by Hays Medical Center and Centura Health.