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10/30/2015 12:00:00 AM CENTRAL
Updated: 11/10/2015 3:33:11 PM CENTRAL
For more information, contact Katie Johnson.
LRH Partners with U of M School of Nursing to screen for Peripheral Artery Disease
Diane Treat Jacobson

Free event at Westridge Mall will help identify people at risk

(Fergus Falls, MN)   The public is invited to a free leg pain screening event on November 14th made possible by a partnership between Lake Region Healthcare and the University of Minnesota School of Nursing.  The screening is for Peripheral artery disease, or PAD, a condition that occurs when blood flow to the legs is blocked from buildup of plaque or fatty deposits in the blood vessels of the leg, depriving leg muscles of oxygen and often causing debilitating pain.  The screening event will be held at the Westridge Mall on Saturday, November 14th from 10am to 5pm and is completely free and open to the public.

“Despite its high prevalence and often severe symptoms, peripheral artery disease is an underdiagnosed and undertreated condition, especially in rural communities,” said Professor Diane Treat-Jacobson, PhD, RN, project director and lead researcher on effective interventions for the disease.  An estimated 8 million Americans are currently living with PAD,  and at least 2 million are living with claudication or the pain or discomfort that comes on with walking and goes away with rest. Claudication can be thought of as “angina of the legs.”

You should consider screening if you experience leg pain when you walk and have one of the following risk factors:  current or previous smoking history, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and are 50 years of age or older.

UMN School of Nursing clinicians and researchers have made innovative discoveries in the treatment of this painful vascular disease and are partnering with LRH to help identify those at risk and provide those with the disease more treatment outcomes. This is the first outreach event in what will be a three-year project to build the capacity of health care professionals, including public health staff, to diagnose, manage, educate and treat patients with the condition, as well as educate the public on prevention. 

 “This partnership supports our aim to help people in our community improve their health by helping older adults to be independent and active much longer, enjoying a higher quality of life,” said Larry Schulz, LRH CEO. “We signed on as the first partner to help create a model that will work in outstate MN and that can be duplicated across the state to make an even greater impact,” he added.

The PAD PRAIRIE Initiative: Promoting Healthy Aging and Mobility in Rural Minnesota is made possible by a grant from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation. For more information or to sign up for the screening, please contact Rebecca Brown at 844-236-6211 or padumn@umn.edu.  As part of the project, the public is also invited to take a survey about PAD Awareness at this link

About Lake Region Healthcare

Lake Region Healthcare is living out its vision to be Minnesota's preeminent regional healthcare partner. With over 80 medical staff and over 900 employees, its team is dedicated to serving its patients and community with integrity, teamwork, compassion and excellence. For more information about Lake Region Healthcare, visit www.lrhc.org.                                                                           

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