The simplest preventive care is the kind that meets people where they already are. On Monday morning, that’s at the Santa Catalina Branch Library, where Huntington Health will offer free hypertension and diabetes screenings conducted by registered nurses as part of an ongoing community outreach program.
The walk-in event runs from 10 a.m. to noon. Nurses will provide personal health guidance, blood pressure checks, diabetes risk assessment and blood glucose screening, plus referrals to medical and social services and printed health resources. Participants seeking the glucose screening should fast for at least two hours beforehand; fasting blood glucose levels of 126 mg/dL or higher indicate diabetes, while readings between 100 and 125 mg/dL indicate prediabetes, according to American Diabetes Association guidelines.
No appointment, insurance card or identification is required. The screening series — a partnership between Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, and Pasadena Public Library — has rotated through library branches across the city for years, broadening access to preventive care in neighborhoods where regular primary care can be hard to reach. Huntington Health traces its roots to Pasadena Hospital, founded in 1892, and became Huntington Hospital in the 1930s following a bequest from the Henry E. Huntington estate.
The Santa Catalina Branch Library has served its corner of east Pasadena since 1913 and moved into its current Spanish Colonial Revival building in 1931. Free parking is available adjacent to the library.
The Huntington Health free health screening will take place Monday, June 1 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Santa Catalina Branch Library, 999 E. Washington Blvd., in Pasadena. Admission is free. For more information, call (626) 744-7272.
