Life Changing Event for Mount Carmel Associate

Ways to Give

Thank you so much to the Foundation for offering such life-saving tests,” Reece said. “This very well could have saved my life.”

When Mount Carmel associate Janie Reece, 31, attended Mount Carmel’s Live Your Whole Life event last fall, she never would have imagined the outcome might have saved her life.

Live Your Whole Life events are part of the wellness program for Mount Carmel associates. Events are held twice a year, in the fall and springtime, and provide associates with a variety of health screenings such as blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and bone density screenings, flu shots in the fall, massage therapy and education on topics about lifestyle choices such as stress reduction, exercise & nutrition and smoking cessation.

Reece’s results from the bone density test offered at the event showed that her bone density levels were at a negative 2. Alarmed, the health care professional conducting the tests recommended that she see her family physician right away to get further testing. Because of her young age, Reece’s physician was initially very hesitant to run more tests, but eventually complied. When the tests came back Reece learned that her bone density levels in her spine were at a negative 4, indicating severe osteoporosis, and her femur bones had osteopenia. Osteopenia is a condition in which the bone mineral density (BMD) is lower than the normal peak levels but not low enough to be considered osteoporosis.

At age 31 with no family history of osteoporosis, Reece would have never considered having a bone density test done had she not attended the Live Your Whole Life event. “I’m very grateful for these tests,” she says. “If I hadn’t taken the screening at Live Your Whole Life, I would have never been tested this early. Who knows what would have happened at age 45 if they wouldn’t have caught this until then.”

Reece is currently seeing a bone specialist and is on Vitamin D. Since being diagnosed she is more aware of her health and wellness and in addition to taking the Vitamin D, she has been watching her diet and walking every day, having lost 12 pounds in the process.

Over 2,500 Mount Carmel associates participated in the Live Your Whole Life Events last fall in which flu shots, cholesterol, glucose, blood pressure, depression and bone density screenings were offered. These screenings help provide awareness to associates who may be at risk for heart attack, stroke, diabetes and/or osteoporosis. 587 bone density screenings were performed, resulting in 113 abnormal results.

Much of the testing supplies used to perform the screenings at the Live Your Whole Life events are funded by the Mount Carmel Foundation. The Foundation is proud to support Mount Carmel programs that encourage healthy choices and promote a healthy culture among Mount Carmel associates, as well as provide awareness and potentially life saving information for those at risk of disease, like Reece.