LAKELAND, Fla. — This year, Publix Super Markets plans to provide free diabetes screenings at more than 800 of its stores.
The Southeast supermarket chain said Wednesday that the walk-in diabetes screenings through its pharmacies include a free blood glucose test and diabetes educational material. Test results are given on-site within minutes.
According to Publix, the screenings will be conducted by Cholestcheck Corp., a health and wellness screening firm, and sponsored in part by Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care.
"Publix Pharmacy is pleased to offer free diabetes screenings as part of our commitment to the total health and wellness of our customers," Maria Brous, director of media and community relations at Publix, said in a statement. "As both a supermarket and pharmacy, Publix is the ideal setting in which to promote healthy living. Offering these free screenings will hopefully assist our customers in early detection and allow them to benefit from our diabetes program, which launched last March offering free metformin for type 2 diabetes patients."
About 25.8 million Americans have diabetes, and 7 million of them are undiagnosed, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data cited by Publix. In a study published last year, the CDC projected that as many as one in three U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue, the retailer reported.
Publix operates 1,036 stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.
