Karen Shideler Shares Cheap Healthy Resources for Wichita Ks Residents
23 01 2009Good Health, cheap
BY KAREN SHIDELER
The Wichita Eagle
YOU CAN TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND SAVE MONEY AT THE SAME TIME
If you’re watching your finances — and who isn’t, these days? –you’re also looking for savings. Here are five options that can help you stay at your healthiest even in uncertain economic times.
1. Dental care
The Dental Hygiene Clinic at Wichita State University offers cleanings, X-rays and fluoride treatments. The work is done by students overseen by dental hygiene and dentist faculty members.
Appointments are 3 ½ hours, to give the students plenty of time. But the cost is about half of what you’d pay in a private dental office, says Denise Maseman, chairman of WSU’s Department of Dental Hygiene. Rules keep her from being more specific.
The clinic follows WSU’s academic calendar. During the spring semester, it’s open Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday through Thursday.
Appointments: 316-978-3603.
Another option: The annual Kansas Mission of Mercy offers free fillings, extractions and cleanings on a first-come, first-served basis. This year’s is Feb. 20 and 21 in Manhattan, at the National Guard Armory just east of town.
Details: Check updates at www.ksdentalfoundation.org.
2. Working out
If group settings keep you motivated, but $40 to $50 a month is too much for a gym membership, try the city’s recreation centers. There are 10, spread around the city, and nearly all offer at least one adult group fitness class. Among them: 10 weeks of yoga for $26, 10 weeks of aerobics for $21 or eight weeks of “ab blast” for $11.
Evergreen Recreation Center, at 2700 N. Woodland, has a 10-week fitness center membership for $27 or drop-in visits for $1 each. Orchard Park, at 4808 W. Ninth St., has a fitness center with a $17.50 a month membership. And Lynette Woodard charges a $1 drop-in fee for access to free weights and exercise machines.
For schedules, visit www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/Park/ and click on the Winter 2009 Class Schedule.
3. Prescriptions
Sedgwick County offers a free prescription discount card to anyone, regardless of job or insurance status. Deborah Donaldson, director of the county’s Division of Human Services, said the discount averages 18 to 20 percent on generic and brand-name drugs. But you have to check — on some generics, the stores offering a 30-day supply for $4 are a better deal.
The cards are free, they last forever, and one card covers a whole family.
Pick one up at these locations:
• Catholic Charities, 425 N. Topeka.
• Sedgwick County Health Department, 2716 W. Central.
• County Division of Human Services, 635 N. Main.
• Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, 230 E. William.
• United Way of the Plains, 245 N. Water.
Or call Rachelle Moody, 316-660-7673, to have one mailed.
4. Immunizations
If you have health insurance that requires co-insurance or a co-pay, it may be less expensive to pay full price for immunizations at the Sedgwick County Health Department, 2716 W. Central. They’re offered on a walk-in basis.
The department charges on a sliding-fee scale based on income. The standard fee is the highest possible rate. For a child’s diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine, that’s $21.96. An adult TD booster is $22.18, but these days most people should get the version that also includes pertussis, and it’s more — $42.05.
Compare prices at sedgwickcounty.org/healthdept/. Click on the Health Access tab, then look for Immunizations on the right side of the page.
5. Healthy eating
Fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains aren’t always the least expensive way to eat. And sometimes, trying to find a new way to fix a nutritionally sound standby calls for imagination.
Enter the Sedgwick County Extension, part of the statewide Extension system. Its dietitians have free advice on nutrition: what’s in season, 100 ways to cut 100 calories, how to cook fresh veggies, how to buy fresh fruit.
Go to www.sedgwick.ksu.edu and click on Health and Nutrition on the right side of the page to start exploring.
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Categories : health tips, working out, workouts, weight loss and wellness, fitness, exercise, health promotion, healthy living, health, weight loss


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