Sacramento-Area Health Systems To Provide Free Medical Tests

The four largest health systems in the Sacramento area and health experts from more than 70 community organizations will offer free medical screenings and information on Saturday, the Sacramento Bee reports. The Regional Healthy Aging Summit, which is being held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Exposition Center of Cal Expo in Sacramento, will offer workshops -- some of which will be available in Spanish and Hmong -- and exhibit booths with information on cancer, cholesterol, heart disease, weight control and other health issues; information on alternative or complementary treatments also will be available. The summit will offer screenings for breast cancer, bone density, blood pressure, cholesterol, depression, diabetes, memory loss, skin cancer and stroke, in addition to dental, hearing, respiratory and vision tests. The health services are being provided by the University of California-Davis Health System, Sutter Health, Kaiser Permanente and Catholic Healthcare West/Mercy hospitals. "It's free, it's quick and a lot of people don't want to ask their doctor for these tests," Carole Cory, assistant director of community relations for the Department of Aging, said. The Bee reports that the first summit in 2001, which was sponsored by the Healthy Aging Coalition of Northern California, was attended by more than 4,000 people, with similar numbers of attendees for last year's summit, which focused on the black, Asian and Latino communities (Weaver Teichert, Sacramento Bee, 10/15).