DALTON, Mass. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) is hosting a free wellness clinic at the Dalton Senior Center. 

 

The clinic will be open from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on June 26, July 24, and Aug. 28, to give individuals personalized health consultations, including medication reviews, blood pressure checks, and lifestyle advice.

 

The commission’s public health educator, Sophie Jannen, will provide visitors with blood pressure screenings, medication reviews, and discuss lifestyle modifications that can improve quality of life. 

 

Health Agent Agnes Witkowski stated that they are offering this opportunity to provide the community with one-on-one time with a health professional. 

 

"It's an opportunity to have more time than you often get with your physician, who might only have five or ten minutes," Dr. Cindy Guyer said. 

 

This one-on-one interaction provides individuals the chance to speak with a healthcare provider who can assess their overall health that may not be able to be discussed during a brief doctor's visit, she said. 

 

This includes managing blood pressure, evaluating medication interactions and side effects, ensuring proper medication usage, and addressing concerns, Guyer said. 

 

This approach is designed to educate individuals and help them become more aware of ways to enhance their health, ultimately leading to positive changes that improve their quality of life, Witkowski said. 

 

At the event, blood pressure cuffs will be distributed to enable individuals to monitor their blood pressure. The visitors will have their blood pressure taken and will be taught how to use the device and understand the results. 

 

Personal health and taking responsibility for your health are important, especially when you get older, Board of Health co-chair Robert Kinzer said. 

 

"Giving out blood pressure cuffs, that can be tremendous," he said. "It's a way to take control of your own health and be responsible to a certain degree for your own health as well." 

 

High blood pressure is dubbed the silent killer because people may not feel anything when there is a problem, Guyer said. 

 

"When your blood pressure is high, that's what your heart has to work against every time it's beating…People can walk around with it being high, and it's putting them at risk of a heart attack or stroke, and be completely unaware," she said. 

 

"Having the opportunity to have somebody check your blood pressure, talk to you more about what it means, and even provide a means to track it at home is really, really important so, we catch people before they have something happen to them, jump on it, get it under control and reduce risk of those events."