New free colonoscopy screening program announced

The Gonzales Healthcare Systems Foundation announced a new program which will allow uninsured men and women in the county to get colonoscopy screenings for free. The new program is similar to the hospital’s current mammogram program that allows any uninsured woman in the county to get a mammogram screening at no cost.

All proceeds raised from the upcoming 5F Gala (Forty Fellas, Females Foundations Fundraiser) set for April 4 will be used toward the launch of the new colonoscopy screening program.

“I’m really hopeful that we can help save some lives,” Kelly A. Lindner, the executive director of Gonzales Healthcare Systems Foundation said of the new program she created.

Lindner met with Dr. Commie Hisey, who then spoke with Dr. Kathleen Koerner, Dr. Christopher Walker, Dr. David Meredith and Dr. John Thomas who all agreed this program would be a great idea.

“We’ll be launching it sometime this year,” Lindner added, “for any uninsured man or woman in our county. We hope everyone can take advantage [of the program].”

The annual 5F Gala has proven to be successful fundraiser in the past. The money raised from last year’s event was used to purchase a telemetry monitoring system. Telemetry monitors the electrical activity of someone’s heart for an extended time. The tool allows continuous ECG, RR, SpO₂ monitoring while the patient remains active without the restriction of being attached to a bedside cardiac monitor.

“We’ve had an uptick in patients this year,” Lindner said. “We needed to get something in here now to upgrade [current equipment].”

“We want people to know that we do cardiac monitoring here,” she added. “We have state-of-the-art equipment. We’re really thrilled that the foundation can contribute to the hospital in this matter for the community.” 

If interested in donating to the foundation, contact Lindner at klindner@gonzaleshealthcare.com or call 830-672-7581 ext. 1005.