The Wood County Committee On Aging (WCCOA) hosted its most recent cholesterol screening last Friday at
the senior center in Bowling Green.
The funds for the supplies of the screening such as needles to draw a patient’s blood, processing scanner
and utensils to check blood pressure are provided from the amount of money the WCCOA receives from its
patients.
Director of Social Services Lisa Myers said funding the cholesterol screenings is not an issue because
not only do the payments from the patients contribute toward the service it hosts, but the senior center
provides some funding as well. They look back to previous years to see how many tools they should have
available.
"We only order the supplies a month before the clinic," Myers said. "We recently have been
trying to promote it and now that we do it’s been helping out."
The WCCOA has been able to keep providing the cholesterol screenings to the community for more than 10
years, expanding to the surrounding satellite senior centers such as Perrysburg and Rossford.
According to the American corporation WebMD and National Institutes of Health, high cholesterol in the
blood can build up along the inside of the artery walls which forms plaque. Large amounts of plaque
increases the chance of having a heart attack or stroke, something Jan Schneider, R.N. and assistant
director of social services, wants to prevent from happening to people.
"We want to make an impact to the community," Schneider said. "We educate the patient to
make lifestyle changes. If it prolongs your life, that’s our goal for everyone."
Resident Phyllis Sleek, 63, attended the cholesterol screening on Friday for the first time and said she
felt relaxed during the service because of it being in one room and the help from the nurses
contributing to making her feel at home.
"It was very calm," Sleek said. "It can lead us to get healthier."
Although the service provides a chance for people age 60 and older, it also encourages people as young as
25 to participate because "the younger you test your cholesterol, the better," Myers said.
Nurses at the screening draw blood from patients and transmit it through a processor to check their
cholesterol level. Patients are able to know the results in approximately seven minutes after the test.
"People in their 20s, 30s and 40s – that’s the time to find out if you have high cholesterol,"
Myers said. "The reason why we wanted to open it up (to more age groups) is for them to find out
earlier."
March is the first of three different screening times throughout the year for anyone who is 25 years old
and older to get their cholesterol checked. The other two periods are July and November. The cost is $20
for people 60 years and older and $25 for people 25-59 years old.
The next scheduled cholesterol screening in Bowling Green is next Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon.
Rossford Senior Center will be March 26 from 10 a.m. to noon.
