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Little Rock, Arkansas
United States
vb_walk vol w cane tests walkability101.jpgFree Health Screenings, Memberships Attract People and Media
AARP is focused on improving the health and quality of life in all communities, including the black community. Find out more about what AARP has to offer the African American community by visiting www.aarp.org/black_community. You’ll find a wide selection of health education material there plus much more.
We know that serious health concerns like stroke, diabetes and heart disease strike a deadlier blow among African Americans than for some other segments of society.
Fortunately, research shows that diabetes and many chronic diseases can be delayed or even prevented in people with high risk.
Health screenings are a critical method for preventing these chronic diseases by detecting potential diseases before symptoms are noticed.
AARP and Walgreens have teamed up for a two-year national mobile health screening tour to administer more than 2.5 million free health screenings this year worth more than $60 million.
The six free screenings are administered by trained medical technicians inside the customized AARP/Walgreens Wellness tour bus.
Results are instantly provided and everyone who is screened is encouraged to visit a doctor or health care provider to discuss the results.
About 250 people came to the AARP/Walgreens Tour Bus on Wednesday, September 30th, and nearly 200 received free health screenings. According to the Walgreens bus team of technicians and staff, the participation in West Memphis set a new team record for a single day of health screenings at one location.
AARP volunteer Dewery Watkins said, “It’s the personal relationships that made it happen.” Watkins, her husband, Robert, and several other members of the West Memphis and Forrest City chapter of AARP volunteered at the event. The Watkins helped publicize the event by getting event fliers into the hands of the right people at churches, area agencies on aging, senior citizen housing complexes, and the junior college. Key partners worked diligently to spread the word, including Christine Simpson, manager of Walgreens at 1800 Missouri; Yvette Barnes of Life Enrichment and Development and Terri Williams of the Delta Institute on Aging.
AARP volunteers in Helena-West Helena braved the rain to help residents of their medically underserved community get free health screenings on the AARP/Walgreens Bus at the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival in October. In fact, people attending the festival from all over the world were screened. Emma Petty, president of the Helena-West Helena chapter, said 96 ads on gospel stations reaching approximately 250,000 people in eastern Arkansas prompted local residents to inquire about the free screenings and free AARP memberships. Listen to the ad at AA/B Radio ad for AARP/Walgreens bus tour , AARP volunteers are following up with the local residents who were screened to make sure they complete the forms and mail them in to get their free memberships.
The media exposure for a Little Rock event in the continuing African American/Black outreach campaign for AARP Arkansas also included a news story on the CBS TV affiliate station, KTHV. Watch the article, featuring AARP Senior State Director Maria Reynolds-Diaz, an African American woman going through the screening process, and a Tour Bus spokesperson at http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=92781.
Almost 250 60-second ads ran on gospel and urban adult stations, KOKY 102.1 FM, Praise 102.5 and 102.7 FM, and Power 92.3 FM in Little Rock, another area of significant African American population. Another 75 promos reached about 62,200 African Americans. In addition, two-hour live radio remote broadcasts were aired from three AARP/Walgreens bus tour stops in Little Rock during October.
AARP volunteers on the state's diversity outreach team are following up to remind visitors to the tour bus to send in their forms and get a free membership. Emma Rand, diversity team chairperson, said "The entire AARP/Walgreens Bus Tour has been a huge success in Arkansas. I highly recommend it to any AARP chapter or hub leaders who are looking for strong community service projects that life the AARP image by providing a valued service to residents."
Below are links to some news articles about the stops on the Fox16 web site and in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the state’s largest daily newspaper (189,000 daily circulation).
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Added: Oct 20, 2009
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