NoelRush
You wouldn’t ordinarily think that Lexington residents Noel Rush and Steve Martin have much in common, but they do. They each have experienced the same medical procedure — an angioplasty.
An angioplasty involves widening an obstructed blood vessel in the body. An empty and collapsed balloon on a guide wire is passed into the narrowed spot and inflated under pressure. The balloon clears fatty deposits that caused the blockage, reopening the vessel and improving blood flow.
Besides each having undergone an angioplasty, Rush and Martin have something else in common. Both went to corporate health screenings or events where they work and where the diagnosis and treatment of their serious health conditions began.
Corporate health screenings, sometimes known as preventive services, are becoming common in the workplace. Many business operators see cost savings in having healthier workers on the job. Screenings also help companies avoid huge medical care costs down the road.
Screenings can be simple or comprehensive. They may include regular physical exams, blood tests such as blood sugar or cholesterol, certain measurements like weight and blood pressure, immunizations and screening tests that search for signs of cancer or heart disease.
Other types of health screenings seen in the workplace are height/weight/body mass index (BMI) measurements, waist circumference readings, bone density screenings, body fat testing, carotid artery screening, pulmonary function testing and more. Some employers routinely offer employees free flu shots.
Rush is vice president of finance and administration at RJ Corman Railroad Group and spokesman for the company. RJ Corman has a strong commitment to good employee health.
“It is something that Rick [founder and owner] initiated five years ago to offer employees the opportunity for a healthy, happy and productive life,” said Rush.
The company has a three-mile scenic walking and biking trail, a world-class fitness facility and frequent wellness seminars and wellness challenges conducted by Saint Joseph Healthcare.
It was an on-site cardiology event where Rush spoke to a physician about the atypical symptoms he had been experiencing when he laid down in bed. Rush had felt discomfort at the base of his throat or top of his chest.
“It was not the classic ‘feels like an elephant on my chest’ kind of thing,” recalled Rush. “What I experienced was a localized pressure from the inside out. The first night it went away after 30 minutes. I attributed it to the Italian sausage I had cooked that night. The next night I felt it again and my hand tingled. This time it didn’t go away in 30 minutes.”
Urged to visit Saint Joseph Hospital, Rush was tested and it was confirmed that he had a blockage and had suffered a mild heart attack. That night he had an angioplasty and now has two stents in the artery to keep it open.
“I now try to do a much better job of watching what I eat. I use our fitness facility and walk the trails on the company property. I urge other employees to do the same,” said Rush.
Steve Martin is a physical therapy technician and has worked for 22 years at Saint Joseph Hospital. Last summer, he noticed how much pain or cramping was in his right leg after walking short distances.
Soon the hospital’s annual health fair arrived. Martin felt he was too busy in the therapy department to attend, although fellow employees urged him to have his condition checked out. He finally relented.
“They did blood pressure checks on both arms and legs and discovered I had no pulse in my right leg,” said Martin. “There should be a pulse at the top of your foot, but it was absent.”
By the next day, Martin could barely stand or walk. He visited his doctor who sent him to a surgeon for an examination and tests. “It showed that I had a 90 percent blockage in my right leg. I was immediately scheduled for an angioplasty.”
Since then, Martin has had no trouble with the leg. He’s glad he listened to the pleas of others to get screened. “I wasn’t going to go that day because we were so busy, but I was talked into going and that probably saved my leg.”
Martin also cautions people to go easy on the self-diagnosis craze that has people trying to cure mystery ailments by looking on the Internet. Initially, he believed his leg cramps were because he lacked enough potassium in his system. He was wrong.
“If anyone over the age of 25 or 30 has access to a free health screening, they should go to it. You ought to be checked out and find out if you are OK. It’s not anything to play with,” he cautioned.
Martin also does interviews with country music stars and plays them on his Internet radio station. He says that whenever certain health issues come up during interviews, he’s quick to urge people to be screened if they have any doubts.