Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 22, 2016 (SKNIS): The Ministry of Health provided yet another opportunity for residents to know their health status, this time for the two days of the Agriculture Open Day, April 21 and 22.
Danesha Grant, a nurse based at the Sandy Point Health Centre explained what types of tests were available.
“At the Agriculture Department today we have a few nurses and we are here to do blood pressure checks, GMR (glucose monitoring) checks, which is to see how much sugar there is in the blood overnight and also the HIV test,” Ms. Grant said, making the link with agriculture by noting that it is important to know the content of agricultural produce n,land that even though one can limit the consumption of products containing sugar, it is still important to know one’s status by doing regular checks.
Agriculture Open Day patrons who wished to take an HIV test were given an added element of privacy.
“Inside the nurses are there to do the HIV testing, where you can know your status which is very important today,” Ms. Grant said.
The screening for blood pressure, and blood sugar took place just outside the Community Empowerment Building on the grounds of the Agriculture Department, while the screening for the point of care rapid HIV test took place inside the building.
The rapid HIV test which involves only a pin prick of blood delivers results in as little as 20 minutes.
The screening was a collaborative effort between the Community Nursing Services and the Health Promotion Unit both in the Ministry of Health.
*************************
DISCLAIMER
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers
