ST. THOMAS — Residents had a chance to learn more about health and wellness Friday at an open house at the St. Thomas East End Medical Center Corporation.
“We want to showcase our services and give everyone a look at what we have to offer for both adults and children,” said Tess Richards, medical director and interim executive director of STEEMC. ” he told the Daily News.
Founded in 2000, STEEMC is the only private, nonprofit, federally qualified medical center serving St. Thomas and St. John.
The event featured educational presentations on dental health, behavioral health, cancer awareness, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.
Richards noted that these topics were selected based on local health needs.
“We know that high blood pressure and obesity are some of our biggest challenges and some of the most common chronic diseases not only at STEEMCC but across the region,” Richards said.
She also mentioned the importance of normalizing conversations around behavioral health.
“Behavioral health, it’s definitely a passion of mine. For everyone with chronic illness, and in light of everything that’s going on right now with the hurricanes, we want to raise awareness about mental health and make it part of our everyday lives.” I think it’s normalization as part of our activities. With COVID, something is happening every day,” Richards said.
STEEMCC is one of the region’s largest providers of comprehensive primary health care services, with a focus on wellness, prevention, and chronic disease management.
“As a predominantly Black or African American community, we are at risk for certain things, our diet increases that risk, our sedentary lifestyle increases that risk, and our sedentary lifestyle increases that risk. The more we hear and learn about it, the more likely it is that we can mitigate some of those risks,” Richards said.
During Friday’s educational session, participants had the opportunity to ask questions and share their experiences.
“By introducing people to some of these concepts, we want them to go home and talk about it with their families and friends,” Richards said.
For adults and children ages 4 and older, annual checkups are an important part of overall health, she said.
During a physical exam, your doctor will check for chronic diseases and cancer, and may be able to catch something early.
Richards said some chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, may not have obvious symptoms that would alert you to go to the doctor.
“Some people may not realize they have high blood pressure until they have a stroke,” she says.
The open house offered free screenings for hypertension and diabetes, as well as free HIV testing.
For children under 4 years of age, more frequent visits to the doctor are recommended.
“There are some developmentally and motor skills in 2-year-olds that we can identify as problems that can be corrected early on,” Richards said.
STEEMCC offers women’s health and pediatric health services, and Richards said she hopes to hold another open house this summer.
“We hope to get that out to kids later in the summer and make sure everyone is ready to go back to school, properly vaccinated and cleared for sports.” ” she said.
In the future, STEEMCC plans to expand to support the treatment and education of patients with obesity and other chronic diseases.
“We plan to open an obesity clinic, add nutrition classes, hire a nutritionist to help all our patients, start offering exercise classes, etc.,” Richards said.
For more information about St. Thomas East End Medical Center Corporation, visit steemcc.org.
