Free Health Clinics, Screenings at City Hall

The Bethlehem Health Bureau is marking National Public Health Week with a series of free screenings and clinics beginning on Monday at City Hall.

The events are designed to show people the easy and small steps they can take to make prevention a part of their lives, according to Kristen Wenrich, the bureau’s director.

This year’s National Public Health Week theme is, “Public Health is ROI: Save Lives, Save Money.”

Every year in the United States, seven out of ten deaths are due to preventable chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, Wenrich said. Chronic diseases account for 75 percent of national health care spending and only 3 percent of those dollars go toward prevention.

The events at the Health Bureau offices in City Hall are:

• Immunizations for Uninsured, Monday, 2 to 4 p.m.
• Blood Pressure Screenings, Tuesday, all day
• HIV, Hepatitis C, and lead screenings, Wednesday, all day
• Car seat checks, Thursday, 10 a.m.-noon
• Wellness Fair, Friday, 2 to 6 p.m.

The 2013 NPHW theme was developed to highlight the value of prevention and the importance of well-supported public health systems in preventing disease, saving lives and curbing health care spending.

“We cannot sustain the current trajectory of health care spending” Wenrich said. “By teaching about and investing in prevention, public health can make an enormous difference in overall health care costs and create a much healthier community.”

The American Public Health Association (APHA) serves as the organizer of NPHW and develops a national campaign to educate the public, policymakers and practitioners about issues related to each year's theme.

Many small preventive steps can add up to make a big difference, Wenrich said. Transforming our health care system from one focused on treatment to one that values prevention saves lives and saves money.