The V.I. Department of Health, for the third consecutive year, will offer free health screenings during the Agricultural and Food Fair. Residents are encouraged to take advantage of free blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure screenings as well as free seasonal flu shots during the three-day fair, Feb. 19-21. The screenings will begin following the opening ceremony on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday.
Individuals completing the health screening process will receive a DOH bag with health paraphernalia and education materials to include information on the Medical Assistance Program (MAP), breast and cervical cancer and diabetes as well as other chronic diseases affecting residents in the Virgin Islands.
Residents will also be able to register for breast and cancer cervical screenings at a DOH clinic.
The department will also have a limited amount of the official no-smoking signs that must be posted at establishments by law and will distribute them on a first-come, first-served basis. The sign is available to download for free on the DOH Web site www.healthvi.org.
In addition to the health screenings, the department’s STD/HIV/TB Program mobile unit will be nearby to offer free HIV tests.
“The test can be taken discreetly in our mobile unit and an individual can know the results in less than five minutes,” said DOH Commissioner Julia Sheen.
Sheen said that statistics show an increase in HIV and STD rates, especially among young people in the Virgin Islands, and she encourages those individuals to take the HIV test.