A special feature of the 72nd Annual Montana Seed Show will be a Health Fair. Last week, Allison Gray, Site Director for One Health—Sweet, shared details about the upcoming event. Beginning at 6:00 a.m. and extending until noon on Friday, March 11, One Health will be offering various lab tests.

According to Gray, due to staffing shortages, only lab draws will be performed at the Health Fair. Furthermore, because of an issue with the laboratory that processes specimens, technicians are only able to do labs for one day during the Seed Show. Health-minded individuals can select from a menu of eleven available labs:

• Chemistry Panel (General Health) $45.00

• Vitamin D $35.00

• TSH (Thyroid) $25.00

• CBC (Overall Health) $20.00

• HGB A1c (Blood Sugar) $20.00

• PSA (Prostate) $30.00

• Lipid Panel (Cholesterol) $25.00

• Testosterone (Men’s Health) $40.00

• COVID Antibody $55.00

• B12 $40.00

• Folate $40.00

No appointments for these tests are needed as individuals will be seen on a first come, first served basis. Gray advises that individuals planning to undergo any of the lab tests should drink plenty of water. “If you are doing the Chemistry Panel, Lipid Panel, or Comprehensive Panel, you also need to fast after midnight,” she added.

Gray further explained that the General Health Chemistry Panel includes a comprehensive metabolic panel, GGT (liver enzyme), iron, magnesium, phosphorus, uric acid, and lipid panel.

“No insurance will be billed for these tests, so patients will need to pay for these services with cash or a check made out to One Health,” Gray clarified. “We can provide a receipt for people to turn in to their insurance companies for reimbursement.”

About the Health Fair, Gray suggested that One Health is trying to give people convenient access to health care services. “For anyone unable to attend, we can extend the offer of Health Fair labs into the following week (March 15-17); but they will have to be scheduled, and they will be done at the clinic in Chinook,” she stated. Anyone wishing to take advantage of this extension should call 406-357-2294 to schedule an appointment.

Looking ahead, One Health is planning to hold a Health Fair in Chinook on April 8 from 7:00-10:00 a.m. at the Blaine County Library’s meeting room, offering the same labs. “We will also extend the offer of Health Fair labs the following week (April 12-14); but they will have to be scheduled, and they will be done at the clinic in Chinook,” Gray concluded.