A key step towards determining whether you may have Osteoporosis or are at risk of having an Osteoporosis is taking a simple, ten minute screening test offered FREE by Washington Hospital's Community Health Resource Library in Fremont, California.  This FREE test is not a substitute for the Osteoporosis Diagnosis Test or Scan prescribed by a doctor.  However, this test can provide you an early indicator on whether you have Osteoporosis or are likely to have Osteoporosis - in any case, the best approach is to take this simple screening test, and take the results of the exam to your doctor and get professional advice.

Earlier in the week, I visited the Community Health Resource Library located at 2500 Mowry Avenue, Suite 100 in Fremont.  I met the Library Operations Coordinator, Ms. Sumedha Shende, who provided me some background information on the library, and why they began the Free Osteoporosis Screening.  Shende is a passionate advocate for Osteoporosis prevention and screening, and speaks eloquently on the subject and the library's drive.  Overall, from my discussion with Shende, I learnt that the FREE Osteoporosis Screen test has been a successful initiative, and a thousand plus community patrons have already visited the library to learn about Osteoporosis, or taken the test.  Besides the Free Screen, the library also provides information and resources on Osteoporosis assembled from various foundations and organizations.

Although I have been diagnosed with Osteoporosis, I wanted to test out the Screen Test, the process, and get a sense of its accuracy and relative ease-of-use.  A senior volunteer who was quite patient and kind helped me with this very simple scan that only required me to take my shoe out, and put my left heel at a slight angle on a simple machine while sitting in a comfortable chair.  Initially, the machine did not provide results (after trying for a minute); the volunteer knew what the issue was - the machine required just a bit of cleaning and oiling the contact points.  On the second attempt, the machine provided results within five minutes.  The entire process took less than ten minutes, and was painless.  This particular Hologic machine measures Osteoporosis in the heel, and provides a BMD (Bone Mineral Density) score.  The associated one page information allows you to interpret the results.  However, it's best to take the results and get a doctor's professional opinion.  My results were consistent with the diagnosis.

Washington Hospital has provided a solid health foundation for the people in Fremont for many decades.  Recently, Fremont won the honor of Top Five City for Living by Men's Health magazine; the people in Fremont have Washington Hospital Healthcare System, and other local health clinics and centers to thank for the good health.

If you are looking to get a FREE Osteoporosis Screen, I would highly recommend Washington Hospital Healthcare System's test available at Health Resource Library on weekdays and on Saturdays.  The library also offers FREE Blood Pressure and BMI test, and host of other resources for maintaining and keeping good health.