Holmesville hosts Healthy Aging Clinic March 21

The Falls Prevention Program of Holmes & Wayne, under the direction of the Holmes County General Health District, is sponsoring a Healthy Aging Clinic for those age 60 and over from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 21 at the Holmesville Community Center, 8441 W. Jackson St., Holmesville. This clinic is not income-based.

The Healthy Aging Clinic will provide free fall-risk assessments and hearing, vision and medication reviews. Individuals may register for one or all of the screenings. There are no walk-in appointments 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 with any questions. Each screening is scheduled for 30 minutes so appropriate review and education on the results can occur with the individual.

The falls screening will be provided by a trained Standing Against Falls Coalition member of the HCGHD. 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 HCGHD. The individual will be screened using three different fall-risk assessments: the Timed Up and Go Test, the 30-Second Chair Stand Test and the 4-Stage Balance Test.

The falls screening and fall-risk assessment 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 HCGHD, 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.

An MRC 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 and supplements a week prior to the clinic to provide a complete and accurate medication review.