LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Did you know that chronic disease is the leading cause of illness and mortality worldwide? Preventive health care has been proven to reduce risk of disease and increase life expectancy, yet there is a shocking amount of people who do not take advantage of these screenings. Why is that? The National Institute of Health conducted a study to better understand the barriers to receiving annual screenings. The top five reported were:
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Belief that they are currently healthy
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Lack of time
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Belief that screening procedures are too complicated to understand
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Negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, embarrassment, pain, and discomfort
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Having had a negative experience during a previous health checkup
The Air Force Civilian Health Promotion Services (CHPS) program was created to combat each of these barriers to receiving preventive care. For more than sixteen years, CHPS has been providing free resources, education, and a variety of health screenings to help the Civilian workforce maintain and improve their health and well-being.
CHPS will be providing free wellness services at Laughlin AFB on October 3-4, 2023. They will be in building 121 and 190. Services provided at the onsite visit will include:
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Cardiac Risk Profile Screening – screening is conducted via finger stick and results are provided within 90 seconds. Results include total cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood glucose and more.
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Blood Pressure Screening – manual or automatic options available.
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Body Composition Screening – this non-invasive screening only requires the removal of socks and shoes. The screening takes less than minute to complete and will provide participants with body fat percentage, segmental lean analysis, and basal metabolic rate.
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Health Education Classes – classes will cover a variety of health topics such as physical activity, healthy sleep, nutrition, stress management, and weight maintenance.
Sign up for screenings here: 
Classes can be scheduled here: 
Each service provided includes a one-on-one consultation where a CHPS staff member will explain participant results in a positive, judgment free environment. The goal of these consultations is not to take the place of your health care provider but to provide confidence through education and be the bridge that helps you cross over the barriers to participating.
The CHPS team looks forward to seeing you at the Civilian Wellness event. Until then, visit our Wellness Website Portal at USAFwellness.com. Members have access to a wide variety of online tools such as: trackers for physical activity and nutrition, interactive learning modules, health education materials, healthy recipes, the CHPS Video Library and other helping agency resources like the Employee Assistance Program and Military OneSource.
Laughlin’s Civilian Resource Centers can be found in building 468 and building 190. For more information call 830-298-9344 or 830-298-4028 or email 47ftw.resiliency@us.af.mil.
For more information about the CHPS Virtual Services program, contact the CHPS office at 850-883-8024 or via email at CHPSsupport@us.af.mil.