For the past four months the Health Hut has been cruising around Lincoln Parish offering free medical services to parish residents who find themselves without insurance for whatever reason that might be.
So far more than 900 residents have walked through the mobile unitʼs doors to be examined. While Health Hut founders Dr. Leonel Lacayo and his wife, Lisa, started the program as a way to help the numerous residents who canʼt afford insurance in the area, the group is now working to help area businesses that canʼt afford to offer health insurance to their employees thanks to the state of the economy and the ever-increasing rates of insurance premiums.
Recently, the Health Hut and the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce held a meeting for the area businesses that do not offer insurance to their employees to explain the program to see if there was any interest, and of the approximately 10 businesses there, the idea was received very well.
Lacayo said the plan for the businesses is to assign each participating group one day out of the year in which their employees will be screened.
The screenings offered by the Health Hut include high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, prostate cancer, renal disease and asthma/emphysema.
After the screenings, Lacayo said the Health Hut can continue to treat the patient if they have the resources. If not, the patient will be referred to Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport for free care.
Since the program is funded by the Lincoln Health Foundation, only residents of Lincoln Parish are allowed to receive the services of the Health Hut.
This is a very groundbreaking program, and parish residents should really be proud of the way the Lincoln Health Foundation and the Health Hut have strived to help those who need a little break.
Having healthy employees cuts back on sick leave, leads to better work from the employees and helps those working with their basic, overall health.
The Health Hut will be working to offer this program, but they need support from the community and area small businesses that may be interested in offering these services to their employees. Anyone interested should contact the Health Hut at 513-1212.
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