Free for all: Residents flood Walgreens' 'priceless' health screenings

The line of people waiting to receive free health screenings outside the Walgreens store at Pecan Boulevard and North 23rd Street never seemed to end Sunday.

By afternoon, technicians were telling newcomers they could not guarantee they would have time to check them by the end of the day.

"Ever since (people) got here we recommended people to get here early," said Sandy Sotelo, manager of the Walgreens Take Care Health Tour. People showed up at to the pharmacy chain store as early as 9 a.m. to wait in line for the free checkups that began two hours later, she said.

The tour offers free screenings for cholesterol levels, blood pressure, blood glucose, bone density, body mass index and waist circumference. The screenings would cost patients more than $115 at a doctor's office, Sotelo said.

Certified medical technicians interviewed patients and ran tests on them inside a customized vehicle parked outside the store. The process took about 20 minutes and patients received their results immediately, Sotelo said.

Screenings can help detect early signs of diseases, and Walgreens encourages people to see their doctor after they receive their results, Sotelo said.

Edinburg resident Juan Garza and his wife arrived at the store just after 11 a.m. and saw the long line. They decided to wait it out and were still waiting to be screened more than two hours later.

"It's a good opportunity to take advantage of it," Garza said. He said he and his wife have insurance, but receiving the free screening will help them save money during these tough economic times.

"Money is tight. You've got to take advantage of things like this," he said.

This is the fourth year Walgreens is offering its Take Care Health Tour to communities throughout the country. The drug store chain plans to visit 300 cities throughout the year, providing more than 1 million free screenings for people, totaling more than $35million.

Walgreens held screenings earlier this month in front of its stores in Mission, Edinburg and McAllen. Another screening is scheduled today at the Walgreens location at 701 E. Nolana St., McAllen. Other screenings are planned throughout the week in McAllen, Harlingen and Brownsville.

Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.