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PARKERSBURG -- The Camden Clark Medical Center will be offering free health screenings for first responders and the community in the aftermath of the fire at the IEI Plastics warehouse on Old Camden Avenue.
The medical center is offering free Pulmonary Function Tests screenings for first responders today and Friday and again for the community at large on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Camden Clark's Marketing Director Roger Lockhart said the medical center will be offering Spirometry tests to first responders to detect if they are having any lung issues as a result of the fire.
''The results will be discussed with the first responders as soon as their test results are completed,'' he said. ''They will also be provided with a copy of their results to share with their primary care physician.''
Spirometry is the most common lung function test. It measures how much and how quickly someone can move air out of their lungs.
''You breathe into a mouthpiece attached to a machine called a spirometer,'' Lockhart said. ''The machine records your results. Spirometry can measure many different things about the way you breathe.
''These include how much air you can exhale, how much air you can breathe in and out in one minute, and the amount of air left in your lungs after a normal exhale.''
Spirometry can detect COPD before symptoms develop, Lockhart said. A doctor also might use the test results to find out how severe someone's COPD is and to help set one's treatment goals.
According to Camden Clark's Facebook page, the screening takes 10 minutes and the results are immediate.
The Memorial Health System in Belpre and Marietta is having discussions about things they are planning to do in the fire's aftermath, but nothing has been finalized yet, said Jennifer Offenberger, associate vice president for marketing and service excellence for the Memorial Health System.
''We continue to be prepared to treat patients in all of our Physician Care Express and Emergency Department locations,'' she said.