Walmarts to host free health screening event in Louisiana

Louisiana Walmart stores will be hosting the first Walmart Wellness Day event of the year on Saturday, Jan. 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  This free health screening event provides residents an opportunity to learn valuable health information, including:

• ·        Blood glucose
• ·        Blood pressure
• ·        Body mass index
• ·        Low-cost immunizations

New this year, Walmart is introducing a virtual reality experience in select stores to assist with smoking cessation. According to the CDC, approximately 22.8 percent of adults in Louisiana use smoke cigarettes regularly. This free resource is intended to be a step toward quitting tobacco. 

Walmart Wellness Day comes on the heels of the company announcing that it will be the first national pharmacy chain to offer free opioid disposal solution at all pharmacy locations that allows patients to responsibly dispose of medications in their trash. 

According to the American Physical Therapy Association, Louisiana is the fifth highest prescriber of painkillers, with 98.1 prescriptions per 100 people.

Since its first Walmart Wellness Day event, the company has provided more than 1.7 million free screenings and 225,000 immunizations to people across the country, helping countless customers uncover existing health problems.

For some, the screenings have been life-saving. Hundreds of thousands of Americans turn out for each Walmart Wellness Day event, making it America’s largest single day health fair event. 

 Saturday, Jan. 20

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.