The Senior Wellness Clinics are for people over age 60 and are sponsored by the Knox County Health Department. Services are offered on a walk-in basis. An appointment is not necessary. In addition to the screenings, a registered nurse is available to review medications and provide education on medicines and illnesses. Free medicine boxes are provided.

New this year to the clinics are diabetic foot exams and wound screenings provided by a nurse from the Center for Wound Healing at Knox Community Hospital. More than one in five people, age 60 and older, and living with diabetes, are at risk for diabetic foot ulcers that can lead to amputations. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 60 percent of lower-limb amputations, not caused by trauma, occur in people with diabetes, many that may have been prevented. A leader in wound healing, the Center for Wound Healing is the only comprehensive wound care center in a seven county area.

The cholesterol test offered at the Senior Wellness Clinic is non-fasting, but participants are encouraged to fast to be able to get an accurate triglyceride reading. The screening also indicates HDL and LDL levels. Clients will receive a paper printout of their test results that they can take to their doctor if follow up is necessary. Senior citizens attending the clinic who do not have a doctor will be referred to the health department medical staff for follow up.

Dates and locations for 2009-2010:

Aug. 19 Kmart, Mount Vernon

Sept. 16 Admin. Bldg., Fredericktown

Oct. 21 Lonsinger Pharmacy, Danville

Nov. 18 Foster’s Pharmacy, Centerburg

Dec. 16 Kmart, Mount Vernon

Jan. 20 Admin. Bldg., Fredericktown

Feb. 17 Lonsinger Pharmacy, Danville

Mar. 17 Foster’s Pharmacy, Centerburg