Barton Health Launches Program Focusing on Prevention and Wellness in South Lake Tahoe

Barton Health has launched a new community program in South Lake Tahoe, one that focuses on health, wellness and prevention. BWell offers services not covered by many insurances, including reduced cost lab draws, EKG tests, Lung Cancer screening and free lectures and a resource library.

“Barton Health is committed to the health and well-being of our community through prevention and early intervention,” says Monica Sciuto, Director of Public Relations. “We want to inform individuals about common risk factors and empower them to improve their health.”

The BWell Community Wellness Program includes educational lectures and health screenings that help the community stay healthy and save money. Barton has a variety of Wellness Lab Draws available, by appointment. Ranging from $40 to $50, people over 18 can get a Wellness Lab Panel (22 Laboratory Tests that include lipid, chemistry panel, and hemogram), PSA-Prostate Cancer Screening, TSH-Thyroid Evaluation, or a Hemoglobin A1c lab test. The public can also make an appointment for an electrocardiogram (EKG), the simplest and fastest test used to evaluate the heart, for $50.

New this year, Lung Cancer CT Screenings are available at a reduced cost. This screening, ideal for people ages 55 to 74 years who have a history of smoke exposure, provides earlier lung cancer detection and can reduce the risk of a cancer-related death by 20 percent. The cost of this screening is $199.

“Medicine as a whole is changing from a fix and repair operation to preventive medicine,” says Michael Cullen, Director of Medical Imaging at Barton Health. “These exams can be good indicators for more serious things going on. The quicker a problem is found, the quicker a patient can be treated before the condition gets worse.”

Also part of the BWell program, Barton’s popular wellness lecture series kicked off this year on January 14. Dr. Robert Rupp, from Tahoe Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, addressed treatments for hip pain. The next lecture, Cholesterol Health, is scheduled with Dr. David Young from Barton Cardiology on Wednesday, February 5 at Lake Tahoe Community College and Wednesday, February 12 at Sierra Nevada College’s Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences.

Led by physicians and medical staff from Barton Health, each wellness lecture addresses a different prevalent health or wellness issue. All lectures are scheduled from 6 p.m. until 7 p.m. and are free to the public.

“At each wellness lecture, information is presented by local healthcare providers with a connection to this community,” says Lynn Norton, MS RD, the lead clinical dietitian at Barton Memorial Hospital. Barton provides these lectures, Norton adds, to help the community “take charge of their health and get the answers they seek.”

Norton has attended multiple lectures. “As a community attendee myself, I have valued the chance to personally meet and hear my health care providers speak. After every lecture, I leave with a greater confidence in the doctors that serve me and this community.”

Wellness Labs and Screenings provide the community access to affordable screenings and the individual is responsible for the full cost of services at the time of his or her appointment. All appointments require a doctor’s referral.

To schedule a lab or wellness appointment or to learn more about Barton’s BWell program, visit www.bartonhealth.org/bwell or call (530) 543-5615. Lecture dates and descriptions are available at www.bartonhealth.org/lecture. Attend four or more lectures in 2014 and be entered to win a $150 gift certificate to a South Lake Tahoe business of your choice.