 A clinic in Park Rapids is encouraging the community to take care of their healthy with a day of free and low cost services. Reporter Cheryl Moore tells us how that story tells more on that story about the first Thursday clinic. The first Thursday of the month has become synonymous with being healthy. Thanks in part to the first Thursday clinic at Catholic Health Community Initiatives, St. Joseph's Community Health in Park Rapids. It just has kind of a nice little ring to it first Thursday in a time for the community to people we have some regulars that come for their A1C testing like every three months or six months. The clinic starts at one in the afternoon and ends at three. The services are provided to any adult who's 19 and older. They can have a hemoglobin A1C screening which is a test for pre-diabetes to kind of monitor their diabetes or to see if they are at risk for diabetes. They can have a regular hemoglobin test done which determines if they are anemic which would be low iron. We have a free blood pressure screening and then we also have some immunizations available for adults. Whether you're a regular or first timer at Catholic Health Initiatives everyone is welcome. Even if you don't make an appointment walk-ins are also welcome. One reason why community health chose to host first Thursday is to help manage preventable ailments. The A1C, the hemoglobin, are screening so that it is an opportunity for people to see what their hemoglobin is or their A1C and if they have some abnormal ranges we then refer them to their healthcare provider and they're able to do further testing and study. The first Thursday clinic has become a hit amongst attendees. Oftentimes companies will send groups of their employees to the clinic just to make sure everyone is taking care of their health. People really appreciate it, really appreciate the opportunity to come in. It's just a great service for community health. We provide many services in Park Rapids from prenatal visits all the way up to these senior health screenings so it's just one of the ranges of things that we do. Reporting in Park Rapids, Cheryl Moore, Lakeland News. To make an appointment for the first Thursday clinic you can call Community Health at the number on your screen. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.