Detroit Lakes Noon Rotary to host Community Blood Screening on Sept. 13-15

DETROIT LAKES — The Detroit Lakes Noon Rotary Blood Screening Clinic has over 30 years of tradition in the Detroit Lakes community, dating back to 1990.

But for two years, in 2020 and 2021, this health-focused event was unable to be held — ironically, for health reasons. Ongoing public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic led to its cancellation — but it was revived in 2022, and now it’s back for another run.

The 2023 blood screening clinic will be held on Sept. 13-15 at the St. Mary’s Essentia Health EMS Building, 225 Park St., Detroit Lakes. The clinic will open its doors at 6:45 a.m., with the screenings beginning at 7 a.m. and continuing until 9:30 a.m. each day.

For just $40, any community member can sign up for blood testing on any of the three days of the screening. The blood will be drawn and tests administered that same morning by a phlebotomist provided courtesy of either Sanford Health or Essentia Health St. Mary’s, who are once again partnering with the Noon Rotary Club to host the event.

The purpose of the annual screening is “to improve the overall health of the community by providing residents with an opportunity for early intervention in treating medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and other related ailments that can be detected through a simple blood test,” according to a press release from the Noon Rotary Club.

Once the blood samples are taken, each sample is run through a battery of tests for measuring cholesterol (blood lipids), triglycerides (blood fats), high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) as well as glucose (blood sugar), creatinine, hemoglobin (red blood cell) and white blood cell counts, creatinine, ALT and potassium levels in the blood, all of which can provide important information for the early detection and treatment of a variety of diseases.

“It’s a nice complement of tests,” says Dr. Bill Henke, a retired Detroit Lakes physician who has been involved with the annual event for many years. He also expressed his gratitude to both Sanford and Essentia Health for providing the staffing, facilities and equipment needed to offer the annual clinic.

Many local businesses pay for their employees to get the tests, and some even offer discounts on the employee’s health insurance if they do so. Even if the employer doesn’t directly fund the screening costs, employees’ health flex accounts will likely cover it — and $40 is still quite affordable, as the panel of blood tests it pays for can cost considerably more when administered separately.

“You could spend well over $100 on these tests anywhere else,” said Rotary member Adrienne Buboltz — and they likely wouldn’t all be taken care of in a single screening.

Without a blood test, a person suffering from a potentially deadly condition like heart disease, diabetes or cancer “could be completely oblivious,” Henke noted.

Heart disease and diabetes are still the two leading causes of death in the U.S., he added, and having these tests could provide an early heads-up.

For instance, Henke said that there are an estimated 30 million people in the United States who have diabetes — and about 25% of them are not diagnosed. “There are huge numbers of undiagnosed diabetics and pre-diabetics in this country, and many of them are asymptomatic,” he added — meaning that no symptoms show up until the condition becomes life-threatening.

The blood screening done at the Rotary clinic can help detect these diseases at an earlier, less critical stage, when treatment is most effective, Henke said.

When people arrive at the blood screening, they will be asked to complete a consent and release form, which will allow their results to be sent to them electronically, via their MyChart account with either Sanford or Essentia. In the past, blood screening results have been available by mail, but that practice has been discontinued, Buboltz noted.

Henke said that those who are planning to participate in the blood screening should restrict food and beverage intake for 10-12 hours before testing, as failure to do so could skew the results of the tests.

“But you can — and should — drink water and take your medications,” Buboltz added.

After completing the forms and signing up for a health account (if the person doesn’t already have one), each participant will pay the fee (if not prepaid) and have their blood drawn, then relax and enjoy some light refreshments to help counteract the effects of the blood loss before heading back home or to work.

Once they receive their results, Henke said, each person should follow up with their primary care physician, or health care team, to discuss the results and what they mean for their overall health.