The HAWC: Taking care of our community

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jenay Randolph
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Joan Craft, director of the Health and Wellness Center, came to MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. in 1997 with an idea to help improve preventative health measures. Taking this vision and not wasting any time, she started providing cholesterol screenings, bone sonograms, and blood pressure testing for Team MacDill on a regular basis. Sixteen years later, the HAWC is still providing this service.

The HAWC's main mission is to provide top quality health and fitness services, reduce health risks and enhance quality of life for active-duty service members and their families, retirees, and Department of Defense civilians.

In 2004, the HAWC joined forces with the 6th Medical Group to provide a more affordable and efficient way of offering these services. Two lab technicians now come out to perform the cholesterol screening by drawing blood, returning to the lab and using their equipment to get more accurate results, which takes approximately three business days.

"The work was so tedious and it became very demanding to keep working alone to provide this service, so the flight commander at the time [2004] sat down with me and asked to allow them to work with us," said Craft. "It's a great collaboration with them; they have continued to be of service and have been very beneficial to the patients."

Before this collaboration, the HAWC used a Cholestech machine to do the screenings. With that, the patients would get their finger pricked and received instant results, but they were not very accurate. It also became very expensive to continue because they were using their own allotted budget to purchase the equipment needed.

"Once you hit 30 years of age or if you battle with obesity, it becomes more important to stay knowledgeable of cholesterol levels and bone strength," said Staff Sgt. Justin Ouellette, 6th Medical Support Squadron NCO-in-charge of microbiology. "High cholesterol, if not caught at the early stages, can lead to heart and vascular diseases."

The bone sonograms determine bone density to alert patients of low calcium intake, weak or brittle bones, which can result in osteoporosis or osteopenia. High blood pressure leads to heart, artery, brain, and kidney damage, so it is highly recommend to be checked regularly.

"A lot of people have never received these services," said Craft. "I love being a health promoter and it is my job to make sure the services are available."

The HAWC offers numerous services not limited to the health and wellness screenings. They offer fitness workshops, tobacco cessation and stress management classes to name a few. It is strongly recommend taking advantage of these services to assist the (pull the next sentence up) HAWC in fulfilling their mission to ensure that Team MacDill has fit fighters and healthy families.

These services are offered on a walk-in basis on every last Friday of the month with no referrals, appointments, and no charge to the patients. They are very important because it could cause heart attacks, heart disease, strokes, and plaque build-up.

For more information, contact the HAWC at 813-828-4739 or visit www.macdillafb.bestofhealth.com and www.facebook.com/macdillhawc.