Tune-Up for Life draws crowd for health checkups

COLUMBUS -- More than 200 people took advantage of the fifth annual Tune-Up for Life Community Health Fair.

The Saturday event, held at the Columbus Family YMCA, offered reduced-cost health screenings to the public.

“This is a community health fair for people who would like to have blood work done at a lower cost. We also offer a list of low-cost screenings,” said Krista Beiermann, coordinator of the event.

For a charge, participants were able to have an extensive wellness laboratory profile, a prostate specific antigen laboratory and a colo-rectal cancer screening. Free screenings included bone mineral density, peripheral artery disease, pulmonary, blood pressure, cardiovascular fitness, body composition, vision, hearing, mental health, muscle testing, food sensitivity and back. The Nebraska Kidney Association also offered free screenings.

For some, the fair was a good way to make their health a priority for the new year.

“A lot of people say it’s been years since I have been to my doctor, and this is a way that I’m going to start,” Beiermann said.

The results of the tests were given to the participants and sent to their physicians. The health fair was not meant to take the place of regular visits with a health care provider.

Even though a person may feel well physically, they could still have developing health issues because not all symptoms are easily identifiable. Through the blood screenings, though, a person can be alerted to possible issues like diabetes, high cholesterol and thyroid problems, Beiermann said.

She encourages people to make their health a priority by taking a pro-active approach and getting baseline information about their overall wellness through the health fair.

The event is offered at a reduced cost because of support of area and local businesses. Some businesses aren’t able to offer on-site wellness programs, but employers still want their employees to get health screenings, Beiermann said.

“In the business world a healthy employee is a happy employee and a happy employee is a more productive employee,” she said, adding that some insurance companies also require health screenings.

The event continues to be successful because of the continued support of the businesses and the YMCA for hosting it, Beiermann said.

Sponsors of the health fair included Columbus Community Hospital, BD, The Columbus Telegram, Time Warner Cable and Three Eagles Communications.