Free Healthy Aging Clinic set for June 10

The Falls Prevention Program of Holmes & Wayne, under the direction of the Holmes County General Health District, will sponsor a Healthy Aging Clinic for the 60-and-over population from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 10 at Martin’s Creek Mennonite Church, 6111 County Road 203, Millersburg.

The clinic is not income-based, and there is no fee for any of the screenings. Anyone is encouraged to participate.

The Healthy Aging Clinic will provide free screenings to check risk for falls, fall risk and balance assessments, hearing, vision and medication reviews. Participants can register for one or all of the screenings.

Walk-in appointments will not be available. Individuals who want to register for screenings must call Kerry MacQueen at the health district at 330-674-5035, ext. 251, to schedule an appointment or ask questions. Each screening is scheduled for 30 minutes so appropriate review and education on the results can occur with the individual.

The check your risk for falls screening will be provided by a trained Standing Against Falls Coalition member of the Holmes County General Health District. The screening is a checklist of potential falls with a review of why it matters to the individual in his or her fall-prevention efforts.

The fall risk assessment screenings will be provided by trained Medical Reserve Corps volunteers of the Holmes County General Health District. The individual will be screened using three fall risk assessments: the Timed Up and Go test, the 30-second chair stand test and the four-stage balance test.

The check your risk for falls screening and fall risk assessment screenings are part of Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries, a program created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Results from these screenings will be discussed with the individual by MacQueen, health educator/injury prevention coordinator at the Holmes County General Health District, and documentation of the results of the screenings will be provided so the individual can follow up with his or her health care provider if necessary. A referral can be made with agreement from the individual to the Falls Prevention Program of Holmes & Wayne based on these screenings.

Modern Hearing Solutions will conduct the hearing screenings. Education on the results of the screening will be reviewed with the individual, with potential referrals for more in-depth hearing screenings if necessary.

A Medical Reserve Corps volunteer, trained as a certified adult vision screener through the Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness, will provide vision screenings as a screening tool only. No diagnosis will occur, but state vision provider information will be made available to those who participate in the vision screening, as well as further vision education resources.

Joel Gause, registered pharmacist, owner and president of Premier Pharmacy, will conduct medication reviews during the Healthy Aging Clinic. Anyone who registers for a medication review is asked to provide a list of all medications, including over-the-counter medications and supplements, a week before the clinic to provide a complete and accurate medication review.

Positive aging materials, including fall-prevention information, will be made available from local, state, national and federal agencies during the Healthy Aging Clinic. Resources will include information from the Falls Prevention Program of Holmes & Wayne, the Ohio Department of Aging, the National Council on Aging, the National Institute on Aging and the CDC.