The heart and stroke charity Croí are launching the Croí Mobile Health Club at O'Tooles Supervalu in Tuam on Thursday, September 12 from 10am to 4pm.
The CroÍ Mobile Health Club is a state of the art mobile health unit where attendees can have free blood pressure and stethoscope checks, along with expert health advice. The event will also be featuring a talk by the Croí Health Team on the benefits of healthy eating and physical activity for maintaining a healthy heart.
Commissioned as part of a transformative legacy donation of over €3 million from the Joe & Helen O'Toole Charitable Trust, the Croí Mobile Health Hub is a first of its kind in Ireland. The 13.6-metre-long, multi-purpose unit is the largest of its type in the country, designed to facilitate early detection of stroke and heart disease. Equipped with six private assessment cubicles and two consultation rooms, the vehicle can also be converted into an open-plan educational and training space capable of hosting up to 40 visitors, with full audio-visual facilities.
The Croí Mobile Health Hub, along with a Community Mobile Health Unit and minibus were all acquired this year, all of which were funded by the trust. In addition, the Joe & Helen O’Toole Stroke Hub will open at Croí House in Newcastle in January 2025 to provide post-hospital discharge stroke care and support services as part of this legacy donation.
CEO of CroÍ Mark O'Donnell says “Stroke and heart disease remain the leading causes of death and acquired disability worldwide, yet 80% of early cardiovascular disease is preventable. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the Joe & Helen O'Toole Charitable Trust, this purpose-built mobile facility will bring lifesaving services directly to communities."
"The Croí multi-disciplinary health team will provide varied early detection and preventive health checks on board, as well as deliver education and training events. We are committed to making these services accessible across the region and beyond through our mobile units, as well as building out the delivery of additional and more advanced diagnostics, and research activities over time."
Education programmes included will cover various topics such as heart and brain health, lifestyle and dietary advice, stroke and heart attack signs and symptoms, defibrillation training for community first responders and home responders, post-stroke and post-heart attack recovery within the community, disease awareness, advocacy campaigns and exercise based physical activity.
Mary Lardner, a trustee of the Joe & Helen O'Toole Charitable Trust, said “Joe and Helen were deeply committed to improving the lives of those in their community, and the Croí Mobile Health Hub is a fitting tribute to their legacy. We hope that through this initiative, more lives will be saved, and families will be spared the devastating impact of stroke and heart disease.”
All are welcome to the event, and CroÍ encourages the local people to take advantage of the opportunity to get free medical checks as well as gain life saving information at the education programmes.
