Community health news

No matter your age or health status, regular screenings are important. Community HealthCare System will make it easier to obtain those screenings on April 29 with a Health Fair in both St. Marys and Holton.

The Health Fair will offer low-cost labs from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. in both locations. Individuals can receive a complete blood count, chemistry panel, thyroid screen, cholesterol panel, and hemoglobin A1c for diabetes screening for $25. A prostate specific...

By Meranda Schmitz, RN

During American Heart Month, we are exploring heart disease risk factors each week along with tips to help reduce your risk. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States. Nearly half of adults in the United States (47%, or 116 million) have hypertension. The table below shows the different stages of hypertension. Take a look...

By Meranda Schmitz, RN

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. February is American Heart Month, so we are featuring weekly information about heart disease risk factors along with tips to help reduce your risk.

Many factors increase your risk of heart disease. Some factors are controllable, whereas others – such as family history – are not. Controllable risk factors for heart disease include high cholesterol levels, high...

Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, is a common virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. The virus has been making headlines recently because of a high number of more severe cases in children. Emergency rooms in metropolitan areas are seeing a large number of RSV-related visits, and many children have been hospitalized. Some hospitals, including Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, are reaching capacity because of RSV and influenza.

Although the...

You may have heard that new COVID-19 boosters have been approved and recommended. These boosters are bivalent vaccines, offering protection against COVID-19 along with the omicron variant. The updated boosters are now available at CHCS clinics.

Individuals recommended to receive a bivalent COVID-19 booster are as follows.

We often invoke sayings about the importance of time: time is of the essence, time flies, and time is money. When someone has a stroke, taking quick action can improve survival rates and outcomes, so it’s worth taking a little time to understand the warning signs and what to do when you or a loved one experience them.

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel carrying oxygen and nutrients to the brain is blocked or ruptures, causing brain cells to die. The American Stroke...

Community HealthCare System clinics in six northeast Kansas locations were recently recognized as achieving Patient-Centered Medical Home status by the National Center for Quality Assurance, or NCQA. PCMH is a model of healthcare delivery focused on treating the whole patient through the lifespan.

“The PCMH designation means that our clinics offer a higher quality of care. When a patient is seen for an appointment, our care teams aim to focus on the overall health of the patient....

Hallie Beardsley was 42. She was a busy single mom to her two kids, and although she knew she needed to get a mammogram, she says she just “hadn’t gotten around to it.”

She’s glad she finally made the time, because the mammogram revealed a large mass that proved to be a rare type of breast cancer. Beardsley said she “completely lost it and thought it was a death sentence,” but her CHCS provider, Physician Assistant Jeremy Brandt, and...

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Everyone can take steps to help prevent suicide. The most important steps are to talk openly about suicide and to learn about resources that can help you or loved ones recognize signs of a mental health crisis and find needed assistance. Below is a list of actions you can take to safeguard your own mental health and the health of those around you.