Healthy Living Tent to offer screenings and information at Labor Day

The Healthy Living tent has been a staple at the Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival for many years, and it’s returning this year to make certain programs and services easily available to tribal members at the festival.

Many programs will perform screenings and offer services in the air-conditioned tent.

The Diabetic Wellness Center will provide A1C tests. The test involves drawing a small blood sample from your finger or arm. You don’t need to fast before the test, which usually takes less than five minutes.

While at the tent, you can check your body mass index (BMI). The BMI test measures body fat based on height and weight. It involves removing your socks and shoes and standing on a Tanita weight scale. It will also test your body fat percentage, fat-free mass (muscle, bone, tissue and water) and basal metabolic rate. The Tanita scale looks at overall health and energy balance. Please note that people with a pacemaker should not use the scale.

The Choctaw Nation Dental program will allow children from ages six months to 16 years to get fluoride coating on their teeth.

The application is simple, taking less than five minutes. The community health nurses use the varnish application. The fluoride is applied to all surfaces of the teeth with a small brush that looks similar to a small paintbrush. Parents will be required to sign a consent form.

Blood pressure checks will also be available. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can increase the risk of serious health problems like heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease. High blood pressure often has no symptoms, so it’s sometimes called a “silent killer.”

Other programs and services that will be available in the Healthy Living tent are:

• Optometry – Choctaw Nation Eye Clinics are staffed with licensed optometrists and fully trained optometry technicians.
• Revenue Management
• Bicycle Safety/Don’t Text & Drive – The number of preventable deaths from bicycle transportation incidents decreased by 2.5% in 2021 but has increased by 37% in the last ten years. In 2022, 1,105 bike riders were killed in traffic crashes.
• Medication Safety
• Public Health – Works to ensure the optimal health and well-being of all people by preventing disease, injury and disability, promoting physical and mental health and protecting from health hazards. Accomplishing this by identifying community health needs, assuring the availability of quality health services and providing effective leadership in developing public health policies. The department is committed to working with communities to eliminate health disparities.
• WIC – The Choctaw Nation WIC Program is a federally funded supplemental nutrition program designed to provide low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, as well as infants and children, with a combination of nutrition education, supplemental foods, breastfeeding promotion, support, and healthcare referrals. WIC has been proven effective in preventing and improving nutrition-related health problems within its population. The foods provided are high in iron, protein, calcium, vitamin A and C. The program serves participants within the Choctaw Nation’s reservation boundaries.
• Breastfeeding Peer Counseling – Breastfeeding counseling and support are provided through the Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program. The Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program aims to improve breastfeeding initiation and duration rates, improve long-term health benefits to women, infants and children, and reduce the incidence of obesity in childhood and later life. The program provides specialized breastfeeding education, encouragement, and support to pregnant and breastfeeding women. Breastfeeding Peer Counselors do on-site counseling and education, home visits, telephone/texting consultations and contacts, and hospital visits. Breastfeeding classes are offered through this program at any location in the Choctaw Nation’s service area.
• Farmer’s Market – The USDA funded a program for low-income seniors in partnership with the Choctaw Nation Health Service Program. The program serves eligible seniors in the Choctaw Nation service area with $50 in benefits that can be exchanged for fresh fruits and vegetables from authorized area farmers from May through October. The Non-Native SFMNP is funded by an ARPA grant and administered through the Choctaw Nation. The Choctaw Nation does not fund the Non-Native SFMNP.
• Beef & Pecan’s/ Elder Food Security – Provides eligible Choctaw Nation tribal members the opportunity to receive ground beef and cracked pecans.
• Adult and Child Nutrition – Help navigate healthy eating practices to improve overall health and help in fighting disease.
• Hepatitis C – Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. The liver is a vital organ that processes nutrients, filters the blood and fights infections. When the liver is inflamed or damaged, its function can be affected. Heavy alcohol use, toxins, some medications, and certain medical conditions can cause hepatitis. However, hepatitis is often caused by a virus. In the United States, the most common types of viral hepatitis are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C (HCV).
• Behavioral Health – CNO Behavioral Health provides various mental health services for adults, adolescents, and children.
• MMIW/DVP – According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), murder is the 3rd leading cause of death for Indigenous Women.
• Healthy Aging – Provides wellness, social services, behavioral health services, case management and providers in geriatric-specific care to assist elders achieve a higher quality of life or maintain optimal functioning and wellness.
• My CNHSA App – Easily refill a prescription or schedule an appointment within one easy-to-use mobile app. Be sure to sign up for text message notifications, too.
• Community Health Nursing – Provides services for tribal members in our rural communities to keep them healthy.
• Annual Senior Wellness Visit
• Diabetic Wellness Center – This program is designed to treat diabetic patients for symptoms arising from their disease in a safe, comfortable environment with certified diabetes educators throughout the reservation.
• Breast Health/BCA
• Podiatry – CNO Podiatry provides all aspects of foot and ankle care, including wound care, corrective therapy, appliances, nail care and surgical intervention. Podiatry clinics are staffed with licensed podiatrists and specially trained nursing personnel to care for podiatry needs.
• Masali – The Masali Program was created by Wellness Center, doctors and clinic administrators to help lead patients to a healthy, more productive life. This program is designed to promote mobility, improved glucose levels, improved weight management, improved flexibility, improved fitness levels, and improved diet and lifestyle.
• Chi Hullo Li – A residential treatment facility in Talihina that offers a long-term, comprehensive and culturally sensitive program for Native American women with or without children.
• Recovery Center – A 60-day residential substance use disorder treatment facility for men with licensed and certified staff dedicated to providing quality substance use disorder treatment services.