Sam’s Club to Offer Free Diabetes Screenings

As a service to its shoppers, Sam’s Club Pharmacy will provide free diabetes screenings Saturday, Sept. 14, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The condition affects 25.8 million Americans, with an estimated 79 million suffering from pre-diabetes, a potentially reversible condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal but aren’t high enough to be classified as diabetes.

Licensed technicians from Land O’ Lakes, Fla.-based Carmen Ingle & Associates will administer the screenings at the 571 Sam’s Club locations with a pharmacy. The event will feature tests valued at up to $200, while supplies last, among them an A1c blood test, used by people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes to measure average blood sugar levels and confirm treatment plans are working; a glucose screening to indicate how much sugar is in blood; along with blood pressure, BMI (body mass index) and vision screenings.

Health screening participants in some cities can also pick up a postcard from the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program to evaluate their risk for pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. The program helps people adopt healthy eating and exercise habits.

“Understanding symptoms that lead to diabetes can help Americans establish a plan to live a healthier lifestyle,” said Jill Turner-Mitchael, SVP at Sam’s Club Health and Wellness, of the event, which she said will “expand awareness for diabetes prevention and provide a free, important service to more than 620 US communities.”

The Sam’s Club Giving Program has awarded Chicago-based YMCA of the USA a $1.25 million grant that will expand its “Healthier Communities” initiatives to help eliminate health disparities among minority individuals and families, and the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program. The YMCA will also introduce health care providers, clinical settings and community-based organizations to predominately African-American and Latino neighborhoods to help refer individuals and families to the right programs.

Sam’s Club, a division of Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., has more than 47 million members in clubs across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.