By Kerry Gardner

We started the Powder River Health Fair 27 years ago. Over the years we’ve had to make adjustments, and once again we will do that to make this event happen.

We have been in contact with Billings Clinic Lab concerning our blood draw and they are asking us to draw only 125 people per day, which is more than they allowed last year.

We will draw on Wednesday, April 19 and draw at Hammond on Thursday, April 20 and finish up with any that are unable to come on the 19th in Broadus, as long as we don’t go over the 125 number per day.

We will start at 7:00 for our workers and then schedule those that need to be at work by 8:00 each day.

We are offering the same blood tests as in the past, as screening tests only, to be followed by your Primary Care Provider.

The tests offered are chemistry panel for kidney, liver and heart enzymes with electrolytes. Lipid Panel for Cholesterol, Triglycerides, LDL and HDL levels. TSH (thyroid hormone), PSA (for men over 50 years), CBC - complete blood count for infections and anemia- WBC, RBC, HGB and HCT, Vitamin D-25OH level, and Hemoglobin A1c for diabetics.

These are all screening tests and you will receive a copy of the results to take to your health care provider for review. Your results will be back within a week and we have information on each test available if you want it. If you are unable to pick up your results within a week, we ask that you please bring a self-stamped and addressed envelope for each person with test results and we will mail them to you. If someone else will be picking these up, please sign a note telling us who has your permission to pick up your results, they are NOT released without your permission.

For those in the Boyes/Hammond area, Debbie Harrington has again agreed to schedule, and we will draw at the Hammond school as before. Please call her at 406-427-5383 to schedule a time. Please bring your stamped, self-addressed envelope and money to the blood draw and your results will be mailed to you as soon as they are available.

We consider this is an important service for our community and hope to see you on April 19 or April 20, 2023. Please call Powder River Medical Clinic at 406-436-2651 to sign up or if you have any questions.

The success of the Health Fair is only because of our faithful volunteers in this community helping year after year; in fact, most of our help has been with us for the past 27 years, which says so much about our community volunteers. Please thank them when you see them, as this would not happen without their help.

Thank you goes to: Terri Bird, Lynnette Janssen, Stacey Brown, Jaci Phillips, Tina Thompson, Krista Gnerer, Darlynn Williams, Lori Stokes, Rosario “Twin” Klar, Taylor Thrush, Randy Sullivan, Sharon Collins, Julie Collins, Morgan Mobley, Leah and Debbie Harrington, Cynde Trucano, and Tami Bayles.

We thank Jena Devries, Billings Clinic, for her help with the details at their laboratory. Thank you goes the Hammond School, Bark Lapke for allowing us to use your building to draw on Thursday morning.

We ask that you pre-register and pre-pay by Thursday April 13, 2023 to allow for the necessary paperwork to be completed. We are NOT able to draw anyone that hasn’t signed up by this time.

Please understand we are working with the Billings Clinic lab and following their directions on how many patients we can draw each day.